Caught In The Flames
by HazelGrey
Summary: After a heart-shattering realization, Layla finds comfort in the arms of the one person she least expected it from. But will she manage not to get burned? Will be updated soon, I promise!
1. His Eyes

**Okay, this is my first Sky High story and it's a Layla/Warren. That's the only pairing I will be doing, to let you know! ^^! Read, enjoy! =)**

"He doesn't need you, okay? And you need to get that in that thick little head of yours, _honey_" Gwen sardonically added. When I found out Will was throwing a party without even letting us, his friends, or should I say ex-friends know, I was quite shocked. So I decided to come check it out. I guess I shouldn't have, because here I was getting _lectured _by Gwen Grayson, or the 'Queen Bee', about how pitiful I was.

"…Oh, I'm really sorry. It must really suck to find out he never cared for you after all, right? But here's my advice: Go home. Besides it's not like you really fit in here" she said, waving her hand towards the party behind her. People were drinking, laughing, gyrating to the hard beat of a techno song, at least that's what I thought it was. Couples were taking each other by the hand, going up the staircase to more secluded areas. As hard as I looked, I couldn't see Will.

"…or anywhere for that matter" Gwen continued, snapping me out of my daydream. At this point, I couldn't look at her. My eyes were fixated on the wooden floor and tears started filling them. When vision was gradually clouding over, I decided I had to leave fast, before ridiculing myself anymore than I already had. I turned on my heel and dashed away from her, from everything, tears spilling.

I mean, really. What did I think? That it would be that easy?

That I would see Will and he would profusely apologize for totally ditching us, and suddenly declare his love for me? As if. It served me right.

I realized that I didn't even know where I was going. I just wanted to get away from there…

* * *

As I looked up not too far ahead of me, the lights were shining at the Paper Lantern. A very unladylike rumble came from my stomach and I remembered that I hadn't grabbed a bite before rushing over to Will's. Maybe food could help me get this off my mind. I went through the doors of the cozy, relaxed, Chinese restaurant and made my way over to the farthest booth on the left side of the room. I sat and quietly observed the people that were avidly chatting while eating their food. It was still a bit crowded here. But that was actually a good thing. I laughed to myself, a bitter laugh. I might survive this evening after all, who knows? No one knew me here.

"…two bowls of Fang Bian Mian? And lemonade" I heard a familiar voice say. I looked to the table a few feet away at my right and saw a tall lean, yet muscular guy serving the customers. His voice sounded oddly familiar.

His long dark brown hair was tied up and was wearing a white apron. My gaze swept over the tanned skin of his neck, went to his broad shoulders, moving down to his lean back, moving further down to his... wait! No no no no! It can't be! I had totally forgotten. Warren Peace?

I mean sure, I knew he worked here, but who would have thought he would be here tonight? And who would have thought he looked so…damn… gorgeous from the back.

NO! No. _Okay, Layla. You already made a fool of yourself enough tonight so don't make it worse. Just mind your own business and hope he doesn't notice the pathetic person that you are here tonight._

But no such luck.

I, being the dumbest of all, _had_ to pick the table closest to the kitchen, didn't I?

As he turned around, and as I turned my head towards the wall in the attempt to hide myself, I was discovered.

"Hippie?" I heard his deep voice get closer to me, "Hey, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Hey, Warren!" I attempted to fake cheerfully "Oh, nothing really. How are you, how's work? Haven't burned any customers yet, hopefully?" I tried to joke, my head still facing the wall.

But my pathetic attempt at lying didn't go unperceived. This is Warren, of course. He would be able to tell you're lying before you even finish your sentence, or just by looking at you. And right now, both my voice and my posture were a dead giveaway.

"Cut the crap, hippie" he spoke, his voice now on a serious edge, "and look at me."

Remembering that my eyes were probably puffy and my face tear stained, I shook my head and attempted to wipe my face with the sleeve of my green sweater.

"I swear I'll burn you if you don't look at me now" he said, his tone now impatient with a hint of menace.

That did it. I turned my face away from the wall and looked up at him in defeat. His eyes turned from annoyed with a playful glint of victory to anxious and worried.

"You're a mess, what the hell happened, hippie?" he said, putting down his empty tray on the table, his voice heavy with concern.

His change in tone startled me as I watched him take a seat opposite of me.

"Wanna talk about it? Should I get you anything?" he asked.

Grateful to have finally been acknowledged, my stomach answered with another rumble and I frowned down on it, embarrassed.

A good-natured smirk played at the corner of Warren's lips. "I'll take that as a yes" he said, getting up.

"No, it's okay. Really, Warren. You don't have to." I said, stopping him in his tracks despite the fact that I actually _was_ pretty hungry.

He froze. He looked back and shot me a cold and ruthless glare that made me stop short and shrink even further into the corner of the booth, if that was possible. Wow. If looks could kill…

"Shut up" he said unfalteringly, "When I get back, you'll eat and we'll talk about it, okay" he completed with what I sensed was a tentatively reassuring tone.

I nodded in response and watched his retreating figure disappear behind the red and orange striped curtain that most likely lead to the kitchen.

**There you have it! First chapter! Review! Review! =)**


	2. Smiling

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sky high (I simply wish I did, yup, I'm a wannabe)**

**Author's Notes: Annndd *drumroll* Here is chapter two! Scared you didn't i? hehe ^^'. The unexpected happened and I got very busy. But I managed to write this. Anyways, here you go! =)**

The Paper Lantern was slowly getting empty as the people got up and left table by table. I sat waiting for Warren to come back, meanwhile thinking about how I would face school tomorrow. Does Will even know what happened? Of course not. Gwen would never tell him. So I'm supposed to keep this in the dark? Well, it's certainly better than having to face the awkwardness of him knowing my feelings. Ugh, damn it. Now how is this helping you clear your head, Layla?

"_It doesn't, fool"_ my conscience cleverly chimed in.

"Oh, shut up. No one asked you" I answered out loud.

Great, now I'm talking to myself. I better stop.

"Finally going crazy, aren't we hippie? Not that you weren't mad before", I heard someone say next to me and I looked up to find Warren with a tray holding what looked like a bowl of soup and a plate of fried spring rolls. As he set the tray down in front of me, I noticed the red-orange flames tattooed on his forearm. It looked really nice, complementing his slightly tan skin.

"Eat up already, I didn't make this so you could just stare at it" he said getting impatient.

"You made this?" I asked, surprised. Then a small smile made its way to my lips as I continued, "Warren Peace can cook?"

"Don't look so surprised. After being in this place so long, I'm bound to pick up some skills. After all, who do you think feeds me when my mom's not around?" he answered. "Now for the last time, shut up and eat so you can tell me what's up." He took a seat opposite of me and watched me dig my fork into the fried spring rolls. I brought it up to my mouth and took a big bite. It was delicious!

"So," said Warren, eager. "Why were you crying? And don't tell me it's a long story. I have time."

I took a few seconds to swallow what was in my mouth, and proceeded to tell him the story.

"Well, I was just at my house and then I call Rosa, one of the girls in charge of the decorations for Homecoming to ask when she'll come get some of the stuff from my house, and there's all this noise in the background. I ask her where she is and she tells me there's a party at Will's and that she was invited by Gwen. So I decide to go check it out. Of course, I was shocked. It was unusual for Will to do something like this and not tell me about it. So I go, and before I can even go inside, Gwen meets me at the door and starts telling me how Will would be better off without me, and how he would never care about my feelings. Proof, he didn't even bother telling be about the party. So now what do I do? Does he even like me? Did he ever? Do I even still have a chance? What if I'm messing up our friendship forever?" I start rambling, "What if-"

"Take it easy hippie, slow down" Warren said, trying to calm me down. "So just because some self-absorbed bitch is saying things about you just because she's jealous, you turn out like this?" he asked.

"No, it's not just Gwen! Will didn't tell me about the party. Maybe he feels awkward around me now, or maybe I'm not good enough to be his friend anymore now that he's—"

"Shut up" Warren said pointedly ignoring my freakout. "Stronghold wasn't around, now was he?" I nodded, staring at my hands in my lap and playing with the napkin. "Then until you see him and ask him about it, you have no reason to go around crying and blowing things out of proportion. As for being an idiot and not letting you know he was throwing a party, he better have his reasons."

I looked up at him slightly surprised at how thoughtful and considerate he was being over the whole matter. Warren was actually not that scary, after all. That cold and dangerous air he gave off made anyone refrain from getting close. But once, you got under that, you discovered the kind of person he could really be; funny and sympathetic.

"Y-you're probably right" I stammered, still a bit taken aback by his kindness. "I'll talk to Will tomorrow and ask him about it."

"Yup, hippie. That's what you should do. Now finish up your soup while I finish up. I'll walk you home" he said, getting up.

"No, really it's okay! You don't have to. I can home perfectly fine." I hurriedly said.

He didn't say anything, fixing me with a sceptical look. I furrowed my brows questioningly and asked, "What?"

"I didn't ask you. I told you, hippie. God knows if you'll make it home this late, being the ignorant and crazy person that you are. You'll probably stop and talk to anything random creepy stranger you find at this hour or God knows what. You're capable" Warren said, shaking his head. "So finish up. We leave when I come back. And stop looking so damn depressing already. It's no fun pissing you off when you're not gonna react" he finished, walking away.

For the first time that night, I truly smiled.


	3. Thanks

**Author's Notes: ****Hello, again! Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry! It's school again, so yeah UGH! I've been pretty busy. But hey, it got me time to think about how the story's gonna go after this. I don't think I wrote as well in this one, but I may be wrong. Read and let me know! =) Here you go, chapter 3!**

* * *

The bell rang the end of third period and I started packing my stuff. Today we, the "sidekicks", learned how to use our powers for defensive purposes. Of course, that's the _only_ way I would ever use my powers. As I said, I'm a pacifist! I won't use them unless I have to. But they don't understand that. Whatever.

"Hello, Earth to Layla?" Magenta said waving her perfectly manicured hand in front of my face. "Come on, hurry! They're serving Pasta for lunch today and apple pie as dessert, remember! Don't be a meanie make me miss my favorite combo, okay?"

"But they have that every week! It's not like it's special or anything. Oh, I like your nail polish by the way", I said nodding at her dark purple nails matching the highlights in her hair.

"Oh, thanks!" she said looking at them. "Now, as I was saying…There'll also be avocado and tomato salad with that dressing you like so much." She finished with a sly smile.

I hurriedly put the last of my books in my bag, standing up, "Well, why didn't you say that in the first place?" Aside from being a pacifist, I'm also an environmentalist and a die-hard vegetarian. Maybe that's why my power is controlling the earth and plants? Hmm…who knows!

We left the classroom, managed to make our way through the sea of people in the hallway before finally making it to the cafeteria. It was full of loud chatter, as usual. I tried spotting our "weirdo table" and easily enough saw Zach bragging to Ethan about his glowing power. Well, same as always. I grabbed a tray and stepped in the back of the long line. Gosh, why did I have to be stupid and eat nothing but an apple this morning? My stomach growled softly as if to say 'I told you so'. _Oh, keep quiet! You'll be fed soon enough, you fattie._

Then I heard a quiet snort coming from the personin front of me.

"Well _that_ sounds familiar. I swear I've heard it somewhere before, now where could that be? Have any clue hippie?" continued the voice I recognized at once.

I felt a blush creep its way to my cheek and snapped, "Just shut up and turn around Warren! I-it's not funny." I mumbled embarrassed.

He turned his head around and cleverly smiled at me saying, "Oh, you don't have to be embarrassed. No one else heard it…I think."

I simply scoffed at that having nothing to say. Looking at him, I took a look at what he was wearing. He had on his trademark black leather jacket, of course, and slightly baggy black jeans with a silver chain hanging out of his left pocket. He wore black combat boots. Looking back up I saw his dark brown hair was loose stopping at his lower neck. He always dressed in black, and I always wondered why. Was it to appear dangerous?

"Stop staring at me, hippie." He said, his voice dull with a hint of wit, "Yes, I can feel it. It's been a scary enough experience having had to deal with your psycho behavior last night. I think I want to recover now."

Last night.

It's true; he had walked me home and managed not to go mad after 10 minutes of me being anxious of everything I heard and saw on our way to my house. But, come on he can't really blame me, it was like, 10pm!

* * *

_I heard a rustling sound in the bushes next to the sidewalk and I jumped, pushing Warren off the path._

"_Can you PLEASE calm down, hippie?" he said finally exasperated, "It was probably just a cat, which is ten times smaller than you. It looks like it was actually a good thing for me to walk with you after all. If not, you would probably be jumping around scared shitless."_

_Even though he was right, I wouldn't admit it. I _couldn't_ admit that I was scared to Warren of all people. He would laugh his head off._

"_I-I'm n-not…__s-scared."I stuttered at the same time wearily looking around. He caught sight of that of course and sniggered to himself._

"_Don't laugh!" I snapped, annoyed but embarrassed all the same._

_He stopped and said, "It's okay. I won't tell anyone how much of a coward you are."_

_I was about to protest again when he continued, "It's not like it never happened to anyone to be walking alone at night and automatically switching to ninja mode. But just relax, worst case scenario, I'm here. And you'll make it to your house safely, 'kay? Now stop jumping around."_

_We continued walking. Was my house really that far? Or was it just the fact that I was scared. Suddenly a brisk and cold wind blew and something went in my eye. Oh, great. Just great! I abruptly stopped trying to get it out. I __squinted and tried opening my eyes, but it was still there. Warren noticed and stopped too._

"_Wait," he said, grabbing my shoulders and making it to I was facing him. "Open your eyes", he said __holding my face in his hands, tilting my head up. His fingers felt really soft and warm against my skin. "Which eye?" he asked, and I motioned to my left eye._

"_Keep it open" he requested, and I complied, o__pening them as wide as saucers. God, I must look stupid. Then he blew gently into it. I felt his breath over my skin and my cheeks grew hot. The speck of sand had apparently gotten out of my eye, but I was transfixed trying to figure out the color of his eyes. They looked brown, but so dark they almost looked black._

"_All better?" I heard him say, snapping me out of my dazed state. I realized his hands were still cupping my cheeks and backed away a little, breaking the contact._

"_Uh, y-yeah." I stammered, "Thanks." I said, looking ahead of me, trying to avoid his gaze._

"_Good." he said. And we continued walking._

_When we finally reached my house, I was relieved. And yeah, I thought about how jumpy I was being and __realized how stupid I must have looked._

"_Thanks." I said to him, though he was already walking away. "Don't mention it." He replied, not turning around. "Really, don't. It'd be a real shame if people found out I babysit scared little kids in my free time, don't you think?"I watched him leave and then went in._

* * *

"Wake up, missy! The avocado and tomato salad with carrots or no carrots?" urged the annoyed lunch lady who looked at me as if she had asked that question more than twice.

"Oh, sorry! Yes, please." I answered and she added them to the corner of my plate. Walking towards our table a little detail nudged at the back of my mind. Since I was probably not paying attention when it got to my turn in the line, how come she already served me my favorite salad? Well of course, it's not like she was particularly fond of me enough to know what I liked. Then who could have told her?

I'll figure that out later, right now, I was starving.

"Well, how about if we go to the movies and you drop your phone or something? How will you find it in the big dark theatre if I'm not there to glow for you, huh? TELL ME!" Zach shouted at Ethan. Yup, they were still at it. I sat down next to Magenta and I was almost about to dig into my salad when my eyes fell on the empty space in front of me.

"Um, have you guys talked to Will lately? I wonder where he is." I said, making Zach and Ethan take a tiny break from their heated debate.

"Come to think of it, no." Zach said with a kind of regretful look on his face. "Ever since he got transferred to the 'Heroes' class, it's been sort of hard to get a hold of him."

"Yeah, it's true." Ethan added.

"Oh, come on you guys." Said Magenta reproachfully, taking a sip of her sprite. "You act like spending one day without Will is total agony. Give him a break! I'm sure he has a lot of stuff to deal with right now. He'll be back soon enough."

"It's been more than just one day now." Zach replied, thoughtful.

And he was right. It _had_ indeed been more than just one day.

I managed to tuck that thought away for now and we continued talking and eating. After all, it wasn't like Will was the life of the party. We could still have fun. Finally the bell rang the end of lunch time and Magenta and I picked up our bags, said bye to Zach and Ethan as we headed for Hero Studies class. As usual, there was a big ambush with everyone trying getting out of the cafeteria and Magenta got ahead of me. Some idiot pushed past me hard, knocking me off balance. I expected to land on my butt and become the subject of laughter for the rest of the day but instead my back came in contact with a muscular and nicely toned chest. I stood up straight and started apologizing as I turned around but was stopped short when I came face to face with him

"You're welcome you veggie maniac." Warren said, gently brushing past me, disappearing in the mass of people.

**Author's Notes: So? What did you think? Review! =)**


	4. Trusting Him

**Author's Notes: This…is by far…the LONGEST chapter I've written. xD! And I enjoyed it more than the others, so tell me what you think! Review! Review! Annndd….Review! ^^!**

* * *

It's _already _Friday? The preparations for Homecoming were almost done. The hallways were decorated with silver and shiny purple banners on which "Homecoming this Saturday from 7pm to 10pm. Theme: Mythical Gods and Goddesses! Dress fancy and bring a date!" I scoffed inwardly. 'Bring a date!' What about those who were single, huh? Obviously not everyone's going to come all paired up looking like some stupid kindergarteners. Ugh, who was I kidding? I knew I wouldn't think the same if I had a date. Thankfully, our little "weirdo" crew, would be going as a group, so no worries. Well at least the four of us. I can't believe I still haven't gotten a hold of Will yet. But today, I have to. It's been way too long, and we needed to get over this whole thing and have a blast at Homecoming!

The hallway was noisier than usual. Must be the adrenaline rush since the weekend is only a few hours away. I walked over to my locker where Magenta was, putting the books back in hers.

"Why thanks for _finally_ gracing me with your presence, your highness." She said mockingly as I opened my locker. As usual, she was all dressed all punk. She wore her purple converse shoes with high-knee black and white socks, a short black mini with tiny frills at the bottom, a black tank top with a purple skull logo, which matched the purple streak in the strands of hair falling on the side of her face. She had chosen to tie her hair up in a pony tail today.

"Oh, come on Frankenstein." I said equally sarcastic. She knew I loved her style, though I would never have the guts to pull it off. "I was copying some last minute notes in Maritime Wonders."

"Whatever" she brushed off. "Did you by any chance talk to Will yet?" she asked, serious.

I smiled wryly and answered "No. But I have to do it today. This is dragging on too much."

"Yeah, you're right." She nodded.

I picked up my back, adjusting the strap on my shoulder. As I turned around to walk to my last period class, I bumped into someone.

"Oh, sorry! My bad." Frantically said a guy whose voice I automatically recognized.

I turned around and sure enough, it was him.

"Will!" I exclaimed, shocked. "Where have you been all this time?"

Surprise dawned on his face. "Layla! Oh, um you know. I've been kind of busy these days, 'cause, you know. Heroes class, planning Homecoming." He listed nervously.

"Well you could have at least told us!"I attempted to scold, but a grin was threatening to appear on my face and apparently Magenta noticed and relieved me from doing the scolding.

"Yes, will. You could have just let us know. We understand." She said, fixing him.

"I know, I know." He said with an apologetic look on his face. "I'll totally make it up to you guys."

"You bet you will," I said, no longer able to suppress the grin that would make the Cheshire cat proud. "You'll have to deal with Zach and Ethan's debates during homecoming since you'll be the only guy. They'll ignore us."

"Umm…about that." He said nervously running his hand through his light brown hair.

"What?" I asked, unsure of if I really wanted to know the answer.

"I'm going with Gwen since you know, we planned it and stuff and we have to represent the committee." He said, his brown eyes rueful.

I felt like I'd just been slapped in the face. After this long enough separation, he was going to ditch us for the bossy bitch of all people? And here I thought I had a chance at telling him how I feel at Homecoming. Guess not. I tried not to let the sadness show on my face and looked at him, my smile fickle.

"Oh…no, it's okay! I totally understand." I said, not able to look him in the eyes. "I'll just catch you later I guess. When you have time, that is." And I walked fast past him before he could see my watery eyes.

"Now, look what you did! You're really an idiot!" I could hear Magenta shout at him. I walked even faster to keep her from catching up to me.

I swept my hand over my eyes to wipe away the tears before they could stream down my cheeks and went in the class room. This was going to be a long last period.

* * *

The bell rang the end of the day and people were rushing out of the front door. I was almost down the steps, when something hit me. Shoot! Ms. Lillian had asked me to help her get the rest of the decorations to the gym for the designer crew working there.

"Come on, Layla!" Magenta shouted so I could hear her already half way to the bus the other students were already getting on. "Quit lagging behind!"

I shouted answering her "I forgot something! I have to help out Ms. Lillian! Can you tell Ron to wait just a bit?"

"Ok, fine. Hurry up!" she yelled back, climbing aboard.

I rushed back in and ran to Ms. Lillian's classroom.

"Layla, just in time." She said, smiling. "Help me carry those please?" she asked me motioning to the boxes under her desk. They were six. Great, three trips.

I picked up two and followed her out with them. They weren't that heavy. One of the guys from the crew saw us coming when we got near the gym and opened the doors for us.

The place looked stunning! And they weren't even done. Groups of two's were helping each other on ladders with hanging ribbons. And supervising the setting up of the DJ table was Gwen. I couldn't help it. I hated her to no end. From her way of acting like she was the best thing that ever happened to the world to her whiny high-pitched voice. But I couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy, knowing that despite all that, it was _her_ that Will was taking to Homecoming and not me.

I dropped the boxes on the bleachers at my left and went out before she could notice me. Only two more trips; hopefully she wouldn't notice me.

I went and came back with the second set of boxes and dropped them next to the first. I was about to exit the gym when I felt someone tap me on the shoulder and I turned around to see _her_. Perfect. Just, perfect.

"Hi, Layla!" she said smiling like a maniac. Why was she even talking to me? It must be something bad.

"Uh, hi Gwen." I answered reluctantly.

"Thank you _so_ much for helping. Really!" she said. "I'm really looking forward to seeing you tomorrow night! Who's your date?" she asked, without a doubt knowing that Will would have been my only possible choice. What a sadist.

"Oh, no one." I answered, looking away.

"No one?" she gushed. "Well, that's surprising. Anyways, I'm going with Will" she finished, though I hadn't asked.

"Yeah, I heard. Since you guys organized it and stuff." I said, trying to comfort myself with this fact.

"What?" she asked, suddenly serious. She seemed to think for a while before understanding washed over her face. "Oh! Is that what he said?" she said, eyebrows almost reaching her hairline. "Gosh, he really is silly. No no no no, he _asked_ me. Since, as you know, we're dating" she finished with a short laugh.

Suddenly, I could feel my heart beating louder.

"Oh my, from the looks of it you're the last to know. That Will, always so forgetful." She casually said, as she'd known him forever. "I told him to tell you so many times and he always said, I will, I will. Ugh. Well, know you know. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to the preparations. See you tomorrow!"

And with that, she turned around and walked back to the DJ table, high-fiving one of her "friends" who leered at me, tauntingly. It was like I couldn't even more anymore, least of all bring myself to accept this.

"Layla, there's still two left, I'm locking up." I heard Ms. Lillian say as she brushed past me heading for her room.

"Oh, yeah, I'm coming." I said, my voice breaking. I followed her, took the remaining boxes and put them beside the others in the gym. Then I remembered I had told Magenta to tell Ron to wait for a few minutes. Great. I ran for it only to find an empty space where the bus was. I was going to have to wait till it got back, which would take a minimum of thirty minutes. My mom would probably be worried, but I really didn't care right now. I walked over to one of the trees around the courtyard and sat down leaning against it'. I felt the tree's aura and it felt peaceful. If there was one thing I was thankful for about my powers, it was my ability to sense nature's aura around me. Once I concentrated, I could feel it and it was always so soothing. That's why whenever I felt frustrated, angry, or sad, I looked for a place with trees or plants and stayed there for a while, till I calmed down. Like the first time I came to know of this ability, when I had gotten in a fight with my mom about her not letting me go to a friend's birthday because my grades were slipping. I ran outside the house, went in the back garden and sat down in the grass. Then I began to feel a tiny waves washing over me on the inside. When I closed my eyes, the feeling intensified. Soon, I was lying in the grass, eyes closed, somewhere between asleep and awake. It was the most soothing feeling ever. So I put my knees up and rested my head against them, closing my eyes.

After a few minutes I heard a voice say "You know if you feel like taking a nap, you should probably go home, hippie."

Breaking my mantra, I looked up to find Warren leaning against the tree. I was a bit surprised at first but I brushed it off . "Shut up. What are _you_ doing here? Shouldn't you be home by now?" i said before putting my head back down.

"Ouch, I'll ignore that. I stayed to help some of the staff unload crates for tomorrow. Don't know what was in them though. What's your excuse?" he said.

I put my head up and rested my chin on my knees instead so that he could hear me. "I was about to leave but then I remembered I had to help Ms. Lillian move some boxes to the gym for tomorrow. So I told Magenta to tell Ron to wait a bit. Then when I came out the bus was gone."

He responded with a quiet snort. I hated when people snorted. It was so annoying. But to my shock, his didn't bother me. It sounded, cute, almost. Wait, did I just associate Warren Peace with the word cute?

"Stop it, it's not funny!" I snapped a bit too harshly for my taste before I could stop myself. I guess he noticed, because there was a short silence and he crouched down to sit beside me. I felt a small jolt of electricity as his bare arm came in contact with mine. I could feel his tough muscles and his incredibly smooth skin. He was wearing a black and red sleeveless shirt and dark gray jeans. Not good. Definitely not. Is it okay for this to feel nice? It was the closest I'd ever gotten to him so far, and truthfully, it was a bit intimidating.

He let out a sigh and asked me "What happened, hippie? Anything to do with Stronghold?"

I hesitating before lying "No, why?"

He sighed again before saying "I thought you would have learned by now that it's pointless to lie to me. I guess not. Now, I repeat. Anything to do with him?"

Defeated I confessed "Well, yeah."

"So, what is it?" he inquired picking up a leaf from the grass and fidgeting with it.

I waited a few seconds and started, "He's dating Gwen. I finally got a hold of him today and I asked him why we hadn't seen him all this while and he said he'd been busy with stuff. Then I told him he would make it up to us by bearing Ethan and Zach's arguing during Homecoming and that's when he told me he was going with her because they worked together on it. Then a while ago while I was helping out with the boxes, I met Gwen in the gym and she told me that they were dating. Now I know she didn't make that up. I mean, she doesn't have to. She's got all the boys in school running after her." I finished, taking a big breath after my rambling.

When I didn't hear anything, I looked to Warren to see why he wasn't talking. His jaw was set, and his dark eyes hardened. He looked scary.

"W-warren?" I said, meekly.

He laughed bitterly and said, "I like her, my ass."

Before I could start to ask him what he meant he said, "The jerk told me he liked you. He told me he was gonna make a move soon. I should have known when he started hanging around her a little too much. He really is full of shit after all."

Normally I would have charged at anyone that insulted Will in any way, but right now it stung. Because I found I actually agreed.

"I don't know what to think anymore." I said picking up a small twig and playing with it. "I really thought I stood a chance too."

I smelled smoke and realized Warren had reduced that small leaf to ashes.

My mouth fell and I gasped loudly. As an environmentalist, I would never put up with this kind of hazardous behavior. I put my hand back and sent it flying towards his head but he held my wrist in his grasp before it could reach him. He held it firmly in place. What was he made of, stone? He put my hand down on the grass.

"A chance to what?" he said, his voice dark with anger. "A chance to get played by a shithead who leaves his friends without a second thought. A chance to get hurt again?"

I felt like I was being scolded and patronized. I protested, "But what do you want me to do now?"

We stayed like this in an awkward silence before he spoke, his voice with a hint of malice.

"Do you want to get back at him?" he asked.

I thought for a bit. Did I want to get back at Will? I can't believe it had turned out this way. My feelings for him aside, we were best friends. We had always been. He would never pick anyone over me and now we barely saw each other. And as for my feelings, I would be elated now that I found out he had liked me. But that was long gone apparently. But what hurt me the most was that he had lied to me. Lied, and asked out Gwen. Did I want to get back at him for this?

I felt my mouth curve into a devious smirk. "Hell, yes." I answered Warren.

He feigned surprise and raised his eyebrows saying. "Well, well, well. Come to dark side, haven't we, hippie."

I smiled and ignored it saying, "Shut up, and tell me the plan."

"Well, for starters I'm thinking we should tie him up to a chair, and shock him times and times again until he spills the beans about everything. Pull out his hair strand by strand, Rub his skin with sandpaper and then soak him with lemon juice, and finally for the psychological trick, lock him up in the trunk of a car for 5 hours." He finished looking eager. Too eager.

"Warren, as much as I know you'd love to all that, I think we should go for something simpler." I said smiling as I saw him roll his eyes.

"Fine, fine, if you say so, you coward." He said.

Then all of a sudden, a brilliant idea hit me.

"How about we…go to Homecoming together?"

I was expecting something along the lines of 'Are you crazy' or 'You must be joking, _hell no_'. But instead after a few seconds he smiled devilishly.

"You know, if this was for any other reason, I would tell you that you were insane. But this is an exception." He said.

"Wow. Warren Peace is taking me to Homecoming. Hell has frozen over." I said teasingly nudging him.

"What can I say? I'll do anything to see that shithead blow his gasket." He answered.

I smiled. I felt relaxed. And happy? At least now I know I would have a great time tomorrow night. My smile grew more as I anticipated Gwen and Will's reaction when they would see us. Then I realized the bus still hadn't come and I needed to get home.

I yawned and said "Well, that aside, we're still stuck here you know."

"Ha, speak for yourself, hippie." He said, standing up and giving me his hand to help me up.

I put my hand in his and he effortlessly pulled me to my feet.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused. "Don't you have to wait for the bus too?"

He smiled a dangerous smile and instead of helping me took out a pair of keys, and dangled them in front of me.

"No. Way." I said. He had a car?

"It's not a car" he said, as if he had read my mind. Then he pressed a button on the rubber tied to the keychain. Nothing happened.

I quirked my eyebrows at him inquiringly and he responded by pointing to a space on the courtyard.

I eyed the spot and slowly I could begin to make out a large shape. What was it? I was slowly coming into focus. The handles, the wheels, the seat; it was a motorcycle. A huge black motorcycle with red flames. The inside of the wheels was also red. My mouth gaped in astonishment.

"Yup, it's awesome." Warren said, noticing my awed expression.

"Where did you get it?" I asked, still amazed.

"I guess that's one of the perks that come with having a super villain for a father." He answered, making his way to the bike.

He walked a distance before stopping and looking back to me.

"Come on, I don't have all day. Move it, hippie." He said looking impatient.

"What?" I asked.

He rolled his eyes and said, "God, you're stupid. I'm dropping you home, idiot. Now hurry up and get over here he said turning around and walking.

What? I can't get on that! And besides, it's just an ordinary bike, right? How is it going to get me home?

"What do you mean you mean you're dropping me home? You can't unless you're trying to say that thing can fly too." I shouted, since he was already too far to hear me.

"You're so damn dense!" he yelled, not turning around. "How do you think I get to school?"

I stopped and thought for a minute. Well, that made sense. No wonder I never saw him on the bus. But still! Fly? Me? I have a terrible fear of heights. Taking planes scares me to no end! And he wanted me to be up in the air, and _exposed?_ I gulped, nervously. It was already five thirty, and I didn't want to wait anymore. Where had Ron gone, for goodness' sake? Ugh, so it was either this or staying here alone, huh?

A loud rumble broke me out of my thoughts and I realized Warren was already on the bike.

"WAIT!" I yelled, and I ran towards him! I got there a bit out of breath and he said "Get on."

I got on behind him, scooted up closer to him, and I shyly put my arms around his middle. He must have pressed another button, because I heard a noise behind me, and when I turned around, I saw big body tubes, like the types on space shuttles, but way smaller. They were spitting fire, making me scoot even closer to him.

"If you value your life, you're gonna have to hold on to me tighter than this, hippie." He spoke loudly, the engine roaring over him.

"Don't you _dare_ make me fall, or else I'll kill you! And why don't we have helmets?" I shouted over the engine.

"Relax," he said reassuringly. "You won't fall, no matter how much I would love to witness that happening. And I wonder how you'd manage to kill me when you're splattered on the driveway." I couldn't see him but I could tell he had that devious smile of his on his face.

"You ready?" he asked me. "We're gonna pick up speed first."

I hesitated before answering, "Yeah." Fear was eating away at my insides. I was anything _but_ ready.

"Don't worry," he said, as an answer to my anxiety. "Trust me. I promise. I won't let you fall." And those were his last words before the engine roared even louder and we were speeding away from the courtyard, and towards the open space where the bus usually took off. My hands tightened around his abdomen as if clinging to dear life. We were getting closer and closer, and I shut my eyes as tight as I could. My heart was pounding hard in my chest.

* * *

Suddenly, I felt nothing under me. As a reflex, I squeezed his waist even tighter, if that was possible and buried my face in his back. He smelled enticingly sweet, yet sour and musky. It was so intoxicating, that I was no longer thinking about the fact that I was several meters off the ground. I tried to gently inhale his scent without him noticing.

"You can open your eyes now, hippie." I heard his voice, breaking me out of my reverie.

I opened my eyes and looked around me. The sky was so beautiful. It was blue, hinting towards purple, and the wind no longer ruthlessly swept over my face, but caressed it almost.

"It's gorgeous" I whispered to myself.

"Yeah, it is." He agreed. "Now would you loosen your hold? I'm about to die here."

I looked down and saw I was gripping him way too tightly. When I released the bunched up fabric of his shirt, my knuckles were white.

"Oh! I'm so sorry." I apologized, feeling really dumb.

"It's alright." He answered me.

Loosening my hold, I realized I could feel his flat and toned stomach. The muscles were hard under my fingers. I felt my face flush. Gosh, I need to calm down.

'_But his body _is_ hot, and you know it._' My conscience chimed in, in a sing-song voice. Oh, shut up I told it.

Soon, we began to descend and in a few minutes I felt us touch the ground as we drove on my street. We got to my house and I got off the bike.

"Thanks a lot." I told him.

"You're welcome." He said, over the rumbling engine. "So, what time do I come get you tomorrow?"

"Uh, is seven thirty good?" I asked.

"Yup, gotcha. See ya, hippie." He said, and he took off. I watched him drive away until he was nothing more than I tiny dot in the distance, and then I went in my house.

* * *

The TV was on and I could hear my mom making dinner in the kitchen.

"Hey, mom." I said, standing in the doorway of the kitchen.

"Hey honey, what took you so long? And what was that noise outside?" she said cutting up carrots into tiny pieces and putting them in a bowl.

"Oh, I missed the bus and it was taking too long to come back, so Warren dropped me off."

She was still chopping away, but I could sense the surprise and worry in her voice. "Warren? Warren Peace? Isn't he that scary, dangerous, mean-looking guy you told me about that one time?"

I felt a pang of guilt at the way I had described Warren. I had made him sound like a monster and now, who was the one looking out for me all the time?

"That's what I thought he was, mom. But not anymore. Warren's actually a really nice person when you get to know him." I said, smiling without realizing it.

Apparently, my mom noticed. "Uh-oh, I feel a little story coming on. Is he cute?" my mom said jokingly, and she winked at me.

"Mom! Come on, he's just my friend." I said, annoyed. "Anyways, I'm going up to take my shower."

"Alright, honey." She said, ignoring my defense. Hurry back down. We're having Cantonese rice! I think you'll like it." I heard her say, as I went up the stairs to my room. Gosh, why do parents always have to think the wrong thing when you say a guy is nice.

**Author's Notes: There you have it! Tell me what you think!**


	5. Let's See What Happens

**Author's Note: Been a busy week! But anyways, here's another chapter! And thank you, all of you who are reviewing =). I really feel encouraged, and i'll try my best to keep this story going. Enjoy!**

* * *

"_I can't escape this hell._

_So many times I've tried_

_But I'm still caged inside_

_Somebody get me through this nightmare_

_I can't control myself"_

Adam Gontier's vocals succeeded in waking me up and I groggily lifted my arm from under the covers, reaching out for my phone that was vibrating on my nightstand. Only a bit further, a bit more, just a bit more. Ugh, why does it have to be so far away? I moved my weight a bit to the other side of the bed and finally picked it up. 'My Punk' I saw flashing on the screen. Magenta? Why the heck is she calling me? Isn't it, like, 9 am only? I slid my phone open and put it to my ear waiting to hear a good reason for this followed by an apology for waking me up, but I got nothing of the sort.

"HELLO, SLEEPING BEAUTY! What are you doing, I told you to call me when you were ready, didn't I? I'm already on my way to Philyra's!" Came Magenta's voice shouting on the other side.

My brain stopped for a minute to process what she was referring to, and then the realization settled in. Shoot! I'm supposed to meet her in half an hour so we can go shopping for our dresses for tonight.

"Um…Magenta? Don't get at mad at me, please" I said, wincing and closing my eyes anticipating her going into psycho mode when she figured out I was still in bed. "I kind of forgot, but don't worry I'm actually walking into the bathroom right now, I'm gonna get ready and meet you there real soon, don't me mad!" I finished rushing, afraid of leaving her time to explode. I was surprised by the answer I got.

"Jeez Layla, I can never count on you now can I? Anyways, get ready and get your ass here in the next thirty minutes or else, you're toast. See ya." And with that she hanged up. In relief I let out a breath that I must I've been holding. I opened the door to my bathroom to be true to what I said and began undressing and brushing my teeth.

The smell of French toast and eggs tickled my nose as I hurriedly went down the stairs.

"Morning, honey" came my mom's voice from the kitchen. "Why such in a hurry?" she said. As she came out of the kitchen barefoot, I saw she was wearing a pair of purple yoga pants that hugged her hips along with a white tank top cut low enough to show a decent amount of cleavage. If it wasn't for our matching red hair and same cheekbones, I would have a hard time believing she was my mother.

"I forgot that I'm supposed to meet up with Magenta today to go shopping for Homecoming dresses together, and she's gonna be mad if I'm not there in the next fifteen minutes!" I said brushing past her, going to the kitchen and grabbing a slice of French toast.

"Oh I see, but aren't you going to eat something first?" she said, sounding vaguely concerned. I rolled my eyes and took a bite of the piece of toast in front of her so she would see. "I am, mom, I am." And I rushed to the front door.

"Want me to drop you off?" I heard her ask. "No it's okay; I'll take the bus, but thanks anyways! We'll be back by five-ish, love you!" I said loud enough for her to hear me, 'Love you too' I heard her reply and then I was out the door.

I walked a bit up my street before finding a bus.

"Downtown, Crown Street?" I asked. He nodded, and I climbed aboard.

After a few minutes, we were out of the quiet neighborhoods and in the bustling busy city. We got to the street and I paid and went off. Where was the store? She said right on Crown Street, after the Jewelry store, but I couldn't find it. As if on cue, my phone rang. I took it out of my brown shoulder bag.

"Hey, where are you? I can't find the place." I said, looking around.

"Well, I can see you going in circles like the crazed individual that you are." Magenta said, and I could almost hear the smirk in her voice, if that was even possible. I looked around again, and then I turned right. Not that far away, I could see someone waving at me. I smiled and said, "Yeah, I bet you can." I hung up and put my phone back in my brown polyester shoulder bag. I walked the short distance and hugged her.

"Took you long enough." She said. "Oh, whatever, I'm here aren't I?" I said, as we went through the doors of _Philyra's Beauty_".

As soon as we entered, my eyes almost leaped out of their sockets. The place was huge! It was a three-story store overflowing with elegant Athenian-style gowns, sandals and other accessories. As much as I wanted to get started, something worried me. But before I could open my mouth to ask the question, Magenta spoke. "Don't worry, we're covered." She said, showing me her thick wallet. I felt a bit ashamed, probably not having brought as much money. So I asked, "Are you sure". Annoyed, she rolled her eyes and fixed me with a light glare. "Of course I'm sure, now let's let started!" she answered, taking my hand and pulling me through the sea of dress racks. There were all kinds of dresses, from short, showy, and scanty to long, elegant, and decently exposed. My eyes fell on an amazing flowing dark green strapless dress that stopped at the ankles. A large strip of silver cloth went halfway around the waist, right under the bust. The price tag said $230. Well, that was expensive. But I had brought about $300.

"Magenta" I said, and she turned around to look back at me. "What about this one?" I said hopefully.

She stared at me for a few seconds before slowly walking over to me, taking the dress out of my hand and placing back at its original spot. "Ew!" she said accusingly, "What the hell? You know I'm grateful that we're doing this together, or God only knows what excuse for a dress you would have come all decked down in tonight." She finished shaking her head, and walking away.

I stayed there in shock with my mouth open before walking after her.

"So," she said, "Did you patch things up with the jerk?" I took it that she was referring to Will. I still hadn't told her about Yesterday. Guess I'll have to do it now.

"I don't think anything will be fixed for a while now after what I heard Friday." I said. She let go of a black nylon mini dress that she was looking and gave me an inquiring look. "What do you mean? What happened?" I sighed and started telling her.

"Well, while I was helping out Ms. Lillian with the boxes that afternoon, Gwen came up to me."

"Gwen? What did the man-eating slag want?" Magenta interrupted, eyebrows furrowed.

"Wait, let me finish" I said, and I resumed. "As I was saying, she came up to me and asked me who I was going to Homecoming with. When I said no one, she made fun of it in that skanky way of hers and then told me she was going with Will. I told her I already knew, because he told me they had to go to represent the committee. Then laughed and told me that he lied. She said that they'd been dating for a while now and yeah. That's pretty much it. After that, I ran out and I saw that the bus was gone." I stopped there and looked down at my shoes, sparing her the part about Warren.

"WHAT?" Magenta shouted. "Shh, shh!" I desperately tried to get her to quiet down. A short brunette, probably one of the store's assistants judging by her outfit, frowned our way. I smiled apologetically and she walked away with a slightly exasperated look on her face as if thinking 'teenagers these days'.

After she had calmed down a bit, Magenta looked to me, clearly still infuriated and said, "I can't believe this. I thought he was an idiot since that afternoon but come on! He's dating that snot-faced bimbo? So that's where he was all that time, huh." She finished bitterly. But when she saw the hurt look on my face, hers softened and she took me in a hug. "Look, it's okay" she said, comfortingly, "Will is a douche. I can't believe he would do something like that. But what's done is done I guess. He made his choice. At least now you know that there is no way he can ever deserve your love now. Stop thinking about him. I know it's hard. You two grew up together. You were inseparable, and I know you still are. And I think that no matter how much he screws up, that can never change. But for now, you need the space, okay?" she said, pulling away. Feeling better, I smiled and nodded. "Thanks a lot, punk." I said half-joking, but also genuinely grateful. She smiled back at me and took my hand. "You're welcome, mother nature. Now let's go find you a real dress!" she said, pulling me towards another section. We looked, and looked, going back and forth until we were finally on the second floor. There were less people on this level; maybe because the prices were higher. Suddenly something caught my eye. I deviated from the path we were taking and walked towards it. It was purple. As I made my way through the other racks I made my way into a new section. It was called 'Royal and Glamorous'. There were tons of purple-ish dresses. The one that caught my eye was gorgeous. It was a short, dark orchid, spaghetti-strap knee length dress. The neckline plunged, but not so low. The bust area was decorated with small shiny sequins and it was cut off by a medium sized strip of fabric that went around the dress, just below it but that ended on the sides. Under that strip, the chiffon fabric color went from dark amaranth, to pale-violet, then to plum, before easing back into dark orchid. It was beautiful.

"Magenta." I called, hearing a faint reply. I put the dress behind me upon hearing her footsteps before she was finally in front of me.

"What? And what are you doing standing there with that creepy look on your face?" she asked. Without a word, I took the dress from behind me and thrust it in front of her face. I saw her eyes open wide.

"This is gorgeous!" she exclaimed, a happy gleam in her eyes. I smiled. "I saw it from afar and it caught my eye. Then I came to see it up close and I figured it would be perfect for you."

"Thanks!" she said, almost suffocating me in a bear hug. "And, right before you interrupted me, I was gonna show you the most beautiful dress you will ever wear. Follow me!" she said, pulling me by the hand to another section, 'Natural Beauty'. It was full of orange and mostly green dresses. "Close your eyes" she ordered. I closed my eyes and I head the rustling of fabric before I was told to open them. As I did I was met with an indeed, most beautiful sight. It was a forest green, jersey fabric, floor-length dress. Thin, small, golden and velvet hoops intertwined with while glimmering ones to make the straps which turned to cross in the back. Green fabric from both sides overlapped each other crossing, covering the bust area, but leaving a part of the stomach exposed as they stopped at opposite hips. The same small hoop strap material curved a bit at the lower back, making half of the belt that broke off at the hip, and continued to the front. At about mid-thigh, a long slit went all the way down to the end of the dress. No. Absolutely no. It was beautiful yes, no doubt. But _way_ too scandalous! I couldn't wear that! All that exposed skin! And if that wasn't enough, the price certainly was. $350.

I turned around at my expecting friend and said sternly, "No, Magenta. No." And before I could get past her she grabbed my arm and stopped me. "No? That's not an option. You are getting that dress. End of discussion" she said authoritatively. When Magenta used that voice, you knew she meant business. But still, no, I couldn't.

I looked to her with regret, "No really, I can't. I mean look at how exposing it is!" I said, ignoring the way she rolled her eyes at me. "And even that aside, it's way too expensive!" She stared at me for a few seconds, not saying anything. "What?" I asked, confused. "Are you done?" she retorted, fixing me with an unwavering stare. "Look, it's a beautiful dress! Yes, it does show skin, but that's another reason for you to wear it! You have a nice body, and you would realize it if you stopped hiding under those terrible clothes of yours, honestly, give yourself a chance! And another reason," she continued ignoring my insulted expression, "Will's gonna be there, and so will the bitch. This is a chance you have at making him realize what he lost, and seeing that skank's jaw fall through the floor." In spite of myself, I couldn't help but inwardly laugh at the image. She did have a point there. But one thing still mattered.

"Yeah, but even if I wanted to get it, I can't. I didn't bring enough money." I said, looking away, embarrassed. Silence. When I looked back at her, Magenta was looking at me as if I was crazy. She took out her walled and swung it in front of my face. "No, I can't have you pay for me." I said, feeling bad that I secretly would have loved her to. "I told you before showing you this dress. You. Are. Going. To. Wear it. And of course I'll pay for it. Now I don't want to hear anything else from you except a thank you" she said, taking the dress off the rack. I threw myself at her in a bone-breaking hug. "Thank you so much, Magenta! You're the best!" I said in her ear for only her to hear, and she knew this meant a lot to me. "You're welcome" she replied, returning the hug. "Now let's hurry and get this over with!"

We went up to one of the assistants and asked her for the matching sandals for our dresses which she helped us find. We went to the accessories section of the store and Magenta bought earrings, bracelets and necklaces to match for both of us. I insisted on getting a green shawl to match my dress, not to look too exposed. She finally agreed, but picked it out for me. We went to the cashier and Magenta paid for the dresses. We took the bags and with that, we were out of the store. Outside, it looked like it was about 4pm. We grabbed some ice creams at Ben and Jerry's and took the bus.

* * *

Then I remembered I still hadn't told her about what happened with Warren. And he was gonna be the one picking us up, so she might as well know now.

"You know I never told you how I got home Friday, right?" I said to her in the bus. She looked away from the window. "What? You went home when the bus came back, right?" she asked. I shook my head with a smile, swallowing the ice cream in my mouth. "What do you mean no? How then?" she asked, genuinely curious.

I pretended to be awfully preoccupied with the strap of my shoulder bag and answered, averting my eyes, "Warren dropped me home with his special motorcycle."

Magenta paused for a minute, as if processing the information and calculating all the chances that what I said actually happened, and then she spoke, "Wait, wait, wait. You're telling me that Warren Peace" she put emphasis on the name, "The same Warren that is practically blowing our heads off in his mind when we go sit with him, accepted to drop you home? And you're telling me he has a flying motorcycle?"

Without a thought I jumped to his defense, "He's not that scary, come on! And I was really down when I found out about Will, and then he came over to me and actually listened to all I had to say. He talked about it with me and made me feel better about everything. He's not the dangerous, bad delinquent that everyone thinks he is. He's a really nice guy." I found myself smiling as I said that last part and stopped, hoping she hadn't realized. But she had.

She looked at me calculatingly and then a sly smile appeared on her face, "Wow. Looks like Warren has a lawyer here if he'll ever need one. You must really think all of what you said just now. But I'm yet to see that side of him, I guess."

A blush crept up to my cheeks and I continued, "And as for his bike, you'll see yourself. We were thinking of a way to get back at Will and Gwen, and I kind of suggested that we go together tonight, so he'll be picking us up." I finished meekly, the blush intensifying.

An astounded Magenta sat before me and I didn't blame her. After all, I had dropped so much news on her today. "I'm really sorry for not telling you all this until now. I don't know why I didn't. Guess I kind of isolated myself these days." I said apologetically.

Recovering from the shock she reassured me, "No, it's okay. I mean, better than not telling me. But don't do it again, gosh. Now I feel like I was in a three year coma and I just woke up. So much changed in just a matter of days, it's crazy." She said, thoughtfully. "Yeah, it is." I agreed. She was right.

So many things _had_ changed. My best friend and I had suddenly drifted apart in more ways than one, and I was growing rather fond of the dark-haired, mysterious, yet incredibly nice '_and strikingly attractive guy that only a few days ago didn't really acknowledge you' _my conscience finished smartly in a sing-song voice. As much as I didn't want to admit it to myself, Warren was rather good-looking. '_His amazing body doesn't hurt either' _the little voice chimed in again. Oh, give it a rest will you. I looked out the window and saw we were on my street. In less than a minute we were near my house and I instructed the driver to stop there.

We found my mom sitting on the couch, watching a cooking program. "Hey girls, welcome back. Did you have fun?" she said, not even looking at us, too engrossed in her notes. "Yes mom, we did" I said. "Hey, Lauren" Magenta said. She always called my mom by her first name. After all, they'd known each other for a long time now, and she was like Magenta's mom. "We're gonna go get ready now." I said and we went up the stairs. "Okay, hurry back down so I can take pictures before you girls leave" came her reply. I opened the door to my room and we went in. Magenta went first in the shower. While she was in, I took out our dresses and the other stuff and brought out the small amount of makeup that I had. I didn't really use much. Just eyeliner, some blush, and lip-gloss. After she came out, I went in. While I took my shower, I shaved off any hair that might have grown on my thighs, and under my arm pits. I don't want any bad surprises tonight. I brushed my teeth and opened the bathroom door, the carpeted floor soft under my feet. Magenta was already dressed, her sandals shimmering lightly. Her hair was tied in a pony tail, with some loose strands falling by the sides of her face. The dark eyeliner and mascara complimented her gorgeous eyes and her full lips were accentuated by the pale-violet, shimmering lip-gloss. She was putting on her necklace and earrings.

"You look the bomb." I said, gaping at her. Despite my friend's outrageous style, when she wasn't in skinny jeans, and punk-styled shirts with the makeup to match as she wasn't now, she looked beautiful, elegant and almost aristocratic. "Yeah, yeah, whatever." She brushed off. "Hurry up so we can get started on you."

I put on my basic under clothes and then put on the dress. I felt a bit too self-conscious, but I suppose it was going to wear off soon. I put on my pair of silver sandals and grabbed a chair to sit on. I took my makeup and handed it to her. She quirked her eyebrows at me, took the stuff, and placed it on the table. She went over to the bed and took her bag. Out of it, she took a slam bag which she opened, spilling the contents all over my table. I eyes widened, my eyebrows almost disappearing in my hairline. "Jeez, what did you do, rob a cosmetic store?" I asked. She laughed and said, "Just a bit from my collection" As she proceeded in putting on applying foundation on my face. I closed my eyes and wondered. If this was 'a bit', then I wonder what the whole collection looks like. A light brush went over my cheek, and I guess she was applying blush. She told me to open my eyes, and when I did she put on the eyeliner. After that, the brushed curled my lashes as she applied the mascara. She worked on my face like a professional. I felt a tiny and hard brush go over my eyelids and a pencil in the corners of my eyes. Then she applied a dark shade of beige lip-gloss on my lips.

"Good." Now on to your hair she said. She took my brush from a drawer and starting brushing all my hair back. "Where's your curler?" she asked when she was done. I motioned to my closet. She opened it, scanned and found it on the stop shelf. She plugged it in under my table and began. I don't know what I would look like when she was done, but I guess I'd have to trust her. She worked her magic and after a few minutes she stopped, putting everything back in its place. I got up and walked to the vanity mirror close to the bathroom entrance. Right before I faced the glass, I closed my eyes. Ugh, whatever I decided, she couldn't have done any damage, she's good at this, trust her! I opened my eyes and squinted, unsure that the person facing me was indeed my reflection. The dress complimented my features a lot. I couldn't believe my eyes. It hugged my hips, making them follow the accentuated curved of my sides. My exposed stomach didn't look so bad. What made me uncomfortable was the exposed cleavage. A small clear line emerged from the top of the green fabric. But after all, I shouldn't make such a big fuss on my b-cup breasts. They weren't really going to attract attention after all. My hair was wavy cascading down my shoulders stopping just bellow my bust. Three strands from each side of my head had been twisted and tied at the back, and some loose strands were falling on the left side of my face down to my neck. I looked absolutely stunning. Magenta had really outdone herself this time.

I turned around to look at her, my smile threatening to get to my ears. I threw my arms around her for what seemed like the hundredth time today. "Easy there, mother nature." She said, struggling to keep her balance as I rocked her sideways over and over again. "You're welcome. But don't forget the other stuff." She reminded me, taking out my long silver necklace, dangling earrings and bracelet. I put them on, and we both put on some perfume that she had brought. "Now there is _no_ way that Will's gonna keep a straight face after seeing this killer body right here." She said, smiling wickedly.

"If you say so," I said, smiling and rolling my eyes. I wished that could happen. "Let's go downstairs, it's almost time!" I took the green shawl out of the 'Phylira' bag on the bed and my small green purse. And with that I turned off the lights and we were out of my room going down the stairs.

* * *

We walked into the living room to find my mom on the sofa watching a movie. I purposely cleared my throat, making her look away from the screen. Her mouth fell open and she got up gasping.

"Who are you and what have you done with my girls?" she asked jokingly, giving us a once-over. "You girls look amazing! Magenta, how on earth did you persuade Layla to wear that gorgeous dress?" she said asked this time, walking over to us.

"Believe me, Lauren. It took a while, but as you can see, it was worth it." Magenta answered, looking to me.

"I bet" my mom said knowingly before her eyes went wide as if remembering something. "Wait, stay here, and don't go anywhere. I'll run to grab my camera! This is a moment to keep." She said before she bolted up the stairs. Right after that, the doorbell rang. "Can you get that?" I heard my mom's faint voice from upstairs. "Sure" I said, suddenly nervous. Was it Warren? Of course, it's Warren you idiot. Who else would be coming at this time? Seriously. I began walking towards the door, but then I froze all of a sudden. What was I getting nervous for? It's not like it was my boyfriend picking me up from prom. I don't know why, but the idea that Warren may be at the door made me nervous. Was it the dress? The doorbell rang again, persistent. "Layla?" Magenta said questioningly. "Sorry." I replied, making my way to the door. I put my hand on the knob, my heart beating loudly and I opened the door. Surely enough, Warren stood there hands in his pockets. He was leaning against the wood surrounding the porch, looking at the neighborhood. The sound of the door opening turned his eyes towards me and there they froze. I could see him taking in the sight before him. His eyes went up my dress, pausing at the end of the long slit, continuing their way up, slightly pausing again around my chest before his eyes met mine. My cheeks grew hot and I didn't know what to say. "Hey, hippie." He said stepping up to me.

As the light from inside the house shone out, I saw he was wearing dress shoes, with black slacks, and a belt. On top he wore an open black tux over a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up at his elbows. His dark hair was parted in the middle as usual, with the light purple streak running through one side, and it fell just at his shoulders. "Aren't you gonna let me in?" he said keeping eye contact, taking one step forward so that he was totally in my face. I smelled his tantalizing cologne and took one step back inside. He tore his gaze away from me and went in. I closed the door. "Oh, the gerbil's here too?" he said sneeringly mocking Magenta.

"It's a guinea pig." She replied rancorously. "And you look like you've been cut out of an old crappy rolling stones magazine." Warren's eyes narrowed, and he didn't answer anything to that. When it came to having a sharp mouth, Magenta was the winner hands down. I heard footsteps and saw my mom come down the stairs with her silver Nixon camera.

When she laid her eyes on Warren, walked up to him putting her hand out for him to shake. "Well, hello there young man. My, my, don't you look handsome." She said smiling. He looked taken aback but shook her hand when she pulled him in for a one arm hug. He lost his composure and nervously said "Good evening, Ma'am. I'm Warren Peace, nice to meet you" He said politely. She quirked an eyebrow at him saying, "Ma'am? Save that for when I turn eighty." She said chuckling. "I'm Lauren Shields. You can call me Mrs. Shields or Lauren. I won't take anything else." Warren seemed in thought for a while before he spoke, smiling, "It's a pleasure, Mrs. Shields."

My mom looked at us, saying "Okay girls, all of you three get together now. I'm taking the picture!" We gathered, waiting for Warren to join in, but he didn't. "I think I'll pass" he said bluntly. "No, no no! There'll be none of that." My mom said, pulling him next to us. "Mom, if he doesn't want to it's fine, jeez, don't harass him." I said to my mom. I didn't want her to make a scene. Warren came in the middle. "Smile!" and the camera flashed.

"Now just you two girls." Magenta and I hugged each other, still facing the camera. FLASH! "Beautiful!" my mom explained, totally in paparazzi mode.

"Now Warren and Layla!"

Neither of us made a move.

"Come on, mom, do we really _have_ to?" I said, whining. "Well of course, you're going together aren't you? Now stop your whining and let me take this picture. You have to go don't you?" That earned a defeated sigh from both of us before we scooted closer to each other, but you could still fit a whole person in the space between us. "Closer, closer, closer." My mom said impatiently, "Good!" she concluded when we were close enough for her taste.

She stopped as if waiting for something and then rolled her eyes, aggravated. "Oh, or the love of God, do I have to tell you guys how to do everything?" she said walking over to us. She put Warren's arm around my waist and mine around his. This was definitely too close for comfort. But yet, it wasn't that bad. "Smile!" I heard and before I had the time to do so completely, FLASH! "Gorgeous" said my mom. "Now you kids have a nice time alright? Be back before eleven, Layla." She said walking us to the door. "Are you gonna wait for the bus?" she said lighting the porch and looking around for it.

"Nah, Mrs. Shields" Warren said, stepping out of the house as we followed. He put his hand in his pocket and brought out the keys to his motorcycle, pressing a button. He walked to wards the shape began to form right in front of the porch. I looked to my mom and Magenta to see their reaction. They were frozen like pillars of salt, jaws hanging, and eyes ready to burst out of their sockets. "Technology these days" my mom whispered to herself, and I laughed at her stupor. "I told you so," I said to Magenta. "Hurry up, we're gonna be late!". I made my way to Warren and got on behind him, the slit on the dress revealing my bare thigh. I blushed, hoping his gaze wouldn't happen to wander there. I looked to him and saw he wasn't looking. Whew, good.

"Oh, yeah!" Magenta said. She had a passion for thrilling experiences, so I was sure she was going to love this. She got on behind me, hanging on to her velvety dark purple purse as I clutched on to mine. Then I realized our purses were the least of our worries right now. "You better hold on tight to me, punk" I told Magenta, "This thing shows no mercy."

"Gotcha." she said. I put my arms around Warren and felt Magenta's encircle my waist. We waved to my mom on the porch as she repeatedly told Warren to drive safely and soon we were driving away. We drove away from my street, made a couple of turns until the coast was clear of any people. Then we started picking up speed. The trees around us were getting blurry and the wind whipped my hair into my face. I battled between raising my hand to fixing it and the fear of falling off if we suddenly took off. I decided not to and not long after we were leaving firm ground, rising. I no longer felt the pressure of the front wheel, then of the back wheel and I clutched Warren tighter as the body tubes in the back came out and lit with fire. I felt Magenta recoil and reassured her, "Don't worry, it freaked me out the first time too. They only shoot fire outwards and the flames are gonna calm down soon." What worried me more was how we were gonna look after we got there, with this wind. But it wasn't that much. Worst case scenario, we could go to the bathroom.I tried not to close my eyes this time but I failed and only opened them to Magenta's voice behind me. "Yeah!" she screamed, ecstatic. "Well that makes two of us that have guts." Warren said, shortly looking back, making eye contact with me. "Shut up." I said scowling.

He winked at me and turned his head back facing front. I felt myself starting to blush and I buried my face in his back to keep it from showing. That didn't help. I discreetly took in his scent and remembered my first ride with him and the feel of his firm abs under my fingers. Stop it! This isn't the time to be thinking about this. I raised my up my head and looked around. The sky was dark, dark, blue and our only source of light was the crescent moon that seemed to be following us.

* * *

After a while I saw the school from a distance, as big, weirdly shaped mass slowly becoming clear each few seconds, and soon we touched asphalt. I only saw a few late comers. Looks like Warren wasn't the only one with a private mode of transportation, but his looked the best out of all the others, I thought. Magenta got off first and then I did. We proceeded in readjusting our clothes and fixing our hair, so we didn't look electrified when we went in. That would be nice to see.

"I'll get ahead of you two, to buy you time, you know." She said, looking at me knowingly before she ran across the courtyard and up the front stairs, disappearing through the open front doors.

I looked up to Warren our eyes met. I reached for his hand and asked, "Ready?"

A smile crept from the corner of his lips and there was a mischievous gleam in his eyes before he took my hand answering, "Sure as hell, I'm ready."

He started walking and I fell in step at his side. We crossed the courtyard and went up the steps. His hand fell out of mine before I felt it coming to rest on my waist. We exchanged a glance one last time before we were met my music as we walked through the doors.

This promised to be an interesting evening.

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**Author's Note: Wwweeeellllll...tell me what you thought! I'm still thinking of the conflict involving Gwen for homecoming. I don't want it to be the same as the movie. Any ideas will be welcomed! =). Review! Review! Annnnd Review! ^^!**


	6. Getting Over It

**Author's Note****: And here is chapter six! Warning! WARNING! There will be fluff! :D ! Here the sparks fly ;). And i don't know if you've seen the tiny topic on my forum, it's for the homecoming chapter, i have three ideas so i was wondering if any of you have a preference. Drop your vote, please? Anyways, Hope you enjoy this one. Review! **

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Warren and I walked through the corridor decorated corridor. As we walked, we earned ourselves shocked and astounded stares from some people who were there. It already started I guess, but we have a long way to go. We finally got to the gym where the doors were already wide open. When we stepped in, I was amazed. "Check Yes Juliet" by We The Kings was playing; some people were standing and chatting by the food and drink tables while others were at tables or on the dance floor. It was dazzling. The room was decorated with flowing ribbons attached to the ceiling, balloons, hanging lanterns; the tables were covered in white and purple tablecloths and were surrounded by white chairs. It was just altogether resplendent. I tried spotting Magenta and the others but I couldn't see them. I hope she prepared Ethan and Zach for the big surprise.

"Quite the attention seekers, aren't we?" Warren said jokingly, referring to the stunned, wide-eyes, open-mouthed stares we were getting. We made our way over to a table and sat opposite from each other.

"So, what's the plan?" he asked.

Yeah, what _was_ the plan? I thought for a minute before answering him. "Well for now, we just sit there and look pretty. Whenever Will shows up, I take it you know what to do."

"Oh, of course" Warren answered, his lips curving into a scheming smile. He was really going to enjoy this. Then I felt a small tap on my shoulder and I turned around. There stood a golden haired, tall-ish, blond guy in a black suit with matching trousers. He wore expensive looking shoes and I noticed a piercing on the top of his left ear. "Wanna dance?" he asked, an inviting smile on his face with a hand gesture indicating the dance floor where couples moved intertwined in each other. I looked from him to Warren, wondering what I should do. He merely shrugged dispassionately, so I stood up and followed the fair-haired guy to the dance floor where "Through the Trees" by Low Shoulder got louder. Around me couples were slow dancing, completely enlaced in each other. Jeez, get a room. I looked back to the guy. His face looked vaguely familiar. I think I've seen him before, Alan something.

"What's your name again?" I asked him.

He took my left hand and slowly brought it up to rest on his shoulder, at the same time puling me closer by the waist, and he held my other one in his left. He close enough now for me to see his almond ivy green eyes, and his thin sandy eyebrows. Strands of his hair fell in his eyes. He's handsome. I wonder what grade he's in and why I've never seen him around that much. "I'm Alan. Alan Morraux." He said, his voice low and velvety. "And you look gorgeous tonight, Layla." He pulled me even closer to him till my face was only centimeters away from his chest. "Uh, t-thanks." I said nervously, getting a bit uncomfortable with the contact, but this was the first compliment I had gotten tonight. He started moving with the music and I raised my head up. "Just so you know, I can't dance." I said, a bit embarrassed, "I don't want you to go home with blisters on your toes from me stepping on them so much."

He simply chuckled gently and replied, "It's okay, don't worry. Just keep up with me, it's not that hard." He took one step to his right his left foot following and I followed, stepping to his right. I let him lead me and soon enough it felt natural. I didn't even have to look down to my feet anymore. "See," I suddenly heard in my ear, "All you have to do is trust me. Let me take control," Alan spoke. His voice had changed. It was darkly sinister with a hint of menace. His grip on my waist strengthened, getting tighter. He held me against him, and I felt him inhaling deeply at the top of my head and then shakily exhaling. What the hell was he doing? I stiffened in his arms. Then I felt his hand slide down from my waist to the more exposed part of my stomach, going lower past my hip, and resting at the beginning of the long slit of my dress. My breath hitched in my throat. What was he doing? I tried breaking away from him and it was then I realized…I couldn't move! My muscles contracted and I tried with every ounce of my being to move but I couldn't. He brought his head down to my forehead and pressed his lips to it in a kiss. The music and chatter was slowly fading out around me and I felt him smile against my skin. What was he doing to me?

"I think she's danced enough for now, don't you?" I heard a familiar deep voice say, with a scary intimidating edge to it. All of a sudden, my arms plopped down to my sides and I felt heavier. I could move. As fast as I tore myself away from Alan and almost ran to Warren's side. He gave me a worried look before fixing Alan with a cold stare. I shifted my attention to Alan and he was standing calmly observing us. "Oh, my bad! If you say so. I guess I'll see you around, Layla, have a nice night." He said to me, with a warm smile before turning his back to us, walking away. Had I just imagined the whole thing? He smiled so innocently, and his voice was completely relaxed. But still, no. I couldn't have imagined my being frozen in place like a pillar of salt. "You alright?" I heard to my right. I looked to see Warren looking worried still.

"Yeah, yeah, it's okay don't worry, I'm fine." I said.

"I'm not convinced." He said after awhile, "But whatever happened, try not to find yourself alone with that guy again. He looked strangely…I don't know how to say it. But let's just say I had a bad vibe, and that's why I followed close.

Followed close? "You followed us?" I inquired.

"Well _someone_ has to keep an eye on you, hippie. And from the looks of it he was getting way too close for comfort." He said, his voice hardening. "Can't you simply take care of yourself? Jeez I'm not gonna be there babysitting you all the time, grow up." I was surprised when I felt a pinch in my chest. That stung a bit, but it was true. I was always relying on him these days. I'm sure it wasn't a day at the beach for him at all. I really have to become less dependent on everyone.

"You're right, so um, I'm gonna go get a drink." I said.

"Sure, I'll be at the table." He said.

I turned, walking away from him and to the food tables. The lights projected by the disco ball were flickering around that area. I reached the tables and opened a half-empty bottle of Sprite. I poured some in a paper cup and leaned against a nearby wall, drinking. My eyes scanned the room for Magenta and the others and I found them on far left side of the room, sitting together at a table. Ethan was engaged in what seemed like a very heated conversation with Zach when Magenta shut him up. She rolled her eyes and spun what looked like an empty bottle on the table. Oh, they were playing spin the bottle. Well at least they were having fun. I looked over to the other side of the room, taking another sip of my sprite and something caught my eye. The raven-haired girl was in a red, floor-length, figure-hugging halter dress and the boy in black dress pants and a long sleeved white dress shirt. His auburn hair was messy as usual. Will. His hands were resting on her hips and her hands were wrapped around his neck.

They were dancing to the slow song playing. I watched as he buried his face in the crook of her neck and hugged her closer to him. I could feel my eyes beginning to well with tears. This wasn't supposed to affect me. No. I wasn't supposed to feel anything. So why did it hurt? Why did it pain me so much to see him with someone else like that? With her. I don't need him. It's not as if he even considers me as a love interest to why should I bother? He whispered something in her ear and she giggled, briefly standing on her tippy toes to give him a kiss on the cheek.

I walked back to the refreshments table and dropped my cup, quickly walking to find the nearest exit. As soon as I was out, the tears began to fall, blurring my view as I walked through the corridors, before finally getting there.

* * *

It wasn't the courtyard, but the small school garden. There was a water fountain, sprinkling water a bit everywhere. I walked to a wooden bench under one of the trees and sat down. I shut my eyes tightly, letting the remaining tears stream down my face. I felt the muscles of my face were contorted into a grimace. I probably looked horrible now, my makeup ruined and all. But I had to get back inside soon, before anyone thought something was up. Actually, who will? Nobody in there gives a damn what's going on. They're having a good time. I know Magenta would care, but I can't afford to spoil her night. Warren is right. It's high time I take care of myself instead of constantly whining.

"You know, I'm starting to wonder how this always happens." I heard someone say. There was no doubt as to who that someone was. I felt him sit beside me. "I find you, you're a mess, and I'm the only one around, so I can't help but stick around." He finished with a sigh. I stayed in my corner of the bench, not facing him, not uttering a word.

"I saw." He said quietly with seriousness. I still didn't say anything. The wind blew swiftly, making goosebumps begin to rise on my arms. I should have grabbed my scarf before coming out here, but I would have probably broken down in there, so, it's not really that a big deal. The wind insolently blew again. It felt like an eternity before he finally spoke again.

"You may be surprisingly stupid, hippie, but at least you can figure this out" he said belittling. "Okay, so there's a little girl. She gets a really beautiful and amazing puppy for her birthday. She plays with her every single day, and she won't let anybody else touch her. They're inseparable. Then a few years pass, and the girl grows older, but she still loves her puppy." I listened to him, slowly coming out of my corner, and sitting normally. "But then one day, another girl gets really jealous, and so she tries to become friends with the girl, to spend more time with her so that she doesn't play with her puppy anymore. Little by little, the girl becomes distant and the puppy feels the change and gets sad because she feels abandoned, unloved, and alone. Then the little girl starts kicking the puppy out whenever that other girl came to visit. It gets worse, the little girl won't let the puppy sleep in her bed anymore, she stops feeding her, and she literally ignores her entire existence. The puppy gets depressed and…you can guess what happens with the lack of attention and affection." He finished. I found that I was tightly gripping the fabric of my dress as I was intently listening to him tell the story.

"According to you" he said, "Who is to blame for the puppy's death?"

I nearly jumped at him, shouting. "Well, the little girl of course, I mean, come on! Why? Just because she finds someone else to play with? That could never replace the years she had with the puppy, and she couldn't even see that other 'friend' was just jealous. Why did she only start caring about playing with her now otherwise? The puppy was just helpless, seeking the affection she usually got from her owner and all she got was rejection, but she still crawled back every time! That's _not_ right! I'm sorry but that puppy should have pride even if it's beyond an animal to feel that, and that little girl doesn't know what she had. The puppy had been her friend from the start; she can't just replace her like that. And the puppy didn't have to _die_ for someone that didn't even _deserve _her!" I finished my chest heaving as I breathed heavily, flustered.

"Well," Warren said, eyes slightly widened in surprise at my sudden outburst, "I see when I put it that way you understand."

"What do you mean, when you put what in what way?" I asked him, confused.

He sighed, exasperated. "You're the puppy." He said, looking to me. Wait…that means he called me beautiful and amazing? No, probably just part of the story. But I slowly realized that he was right. Will and I were inseparable until he got busy and distracted with Gwen. Then he didn't 'have time' anymore, and it was like his friends didn't even exist. Like _I _didn't exist. Instead he started dating her and didn't even tell me about it. No, he _lied_. Yet, I was still crying over him? It's true that real friendship never dies, but right now, if I keep going like this, I'll end up like the puppy. So heavily dependent on that affection that my life revolves around it and I'm totally desperate. No, I won't let that happen to me. How come I had never realized this before? It made perfect sense.

"Thank you, Warren." I said. Hearing my voice I realized it was filled with more emotion than I had intended to let show.

"No problem, hippie. Just glad you finally get it." He said casually with some true relief in his voice.

"No, seriously, I mean" I said beginning to stammer as I searched for words that would express my gratitude. "Really, _thank you_. These days, I don't know what I would have become if you hadn't been there. I would probably be at home, stuffing myself with food, crying my eyes out like the baby I am. But now I don't want to force people to pick up the pieces after my messes anymore."

I paused for a second to make sure he was still paying attention and not tuning out, even if it wasn't like him. I _was _rambling quite a lot. But he was giving me his undivided attention, and his eyes were intently fixed on me. Did I have something on my face?

"And I promise, I'll definitely stop whining and learn how to handle myself, so that you don't have to stick around that much anymore." I said, half-jokingly before realizing what I was implying. Another brisk, cold wind blew and I shivered. He noticed.

"N-not that I don't want you around, it's actually the opposite, in fact you're really reliable, too reliable, and that's why I don't want to depend on you anymore, not that I don't need you, it's just-" I was caught off by his finger which he had softly pressed to my lips. It felt warm.

"Damn, don't you ever stop talking?" he said with a slightly annoyed look on his face, which also was a bit reflected in his tone

He moved closer to me and put his hands on my shoulders, rubbing up and down my upper arms. The warmth his hands emitted spread throughout my body. He was probably using his fire power at a very low intensity. It felt soothing and comforting. After a few seconds, I was no longer cold.

"You know, I'm relieved you've finally decided to take matters in your own hands, hippie. But I don't know about not leaving you be and not pissing you off anymore" he said, his hands stopping their rubbing motion, but still remaining on my upper arms. "Besides, I've sort of taken to babysitting you." He finished leaning in, his voice lower. His right hand went up to my face to brush away a strand of hair in front of my eyes and tucking it behind my ear. His hand lingered, and I felt my cheeks grow hot. I looked at him and found myself staring into his dark auburn eyes. I felt frozen in place, but at the same time I had the urge to inch closer. His hand went to cup my cheek with his palm and he ran his thumb lightly over my lower lip sending a quick jolt of electricity down my spine. What was this? I was struggling to keep my breathing even, as my eyes were glued to his and I couldn't tear them away. It was dark but the moonlight shone allowing me to see them lit with fervor and something else I couldn't quite put my finger on. Did they always have that charming glimmer in them? I could see his smooth-looking skin up close as I leaned in closer to him, shortening the distance between us. I wonder how it felt. Shyly, I brought a hand up to rest on his cheek. It was indeed endearingly soft. My heart was threatening to leap out of my chest. He leaned in even closer, our noses almost touching and his slightly full, tempting lips only a breath away from my own tingling ones. Did I want him to kiss me? _Of course you do! You're practically _begging_ for it _the little voice in my head accused. Truth be told, my hand had caressed its way down to his neck, getting under his dark brown hair that was down and I was trying to bring him closer. I felt his breath on my lips, now our noses were touching before he dipped his head lower, ever so lightly brushing my lips with his, before starting to slowly pull away.

Oh no, you don't. And with that I closed the painfully short distance between us and captured his lips in a gentle yet demanding kiss.

This can't be real. I'm kissing Warren? Of course, it had to be real to feel this amazing. Well, he started it, but still maybe he had second thoughts and wanted to pull away and I forced him to? I just keep on getting myself in these situations. My train of thought was completely cut off as Warren responded fervently, his lips pressing harder against mine, as his hold on my waist tightened. The smell of his alluringly sweet cologne combined with the way his lips expertly moved over mine was too much. I gave into the feeling and brought both of my arms up, to wrap them up around his neck, hugging him closer to me. I inhaled sharply as I felt him gently bite my lower lip in response.

I had never in my whole life thought that a kiss could feel this good. And the way he held me, the way his strong arms encircled me, it made me feel…safe.

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**Author's Note: Okay, don't grade me too hashly, this is my first fluff! Got a huge exam in a few days so i probably won't update for a while, bear with me. But i will be back! (Muahahaha :) REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!**


	7. Homecoming With A Twist

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sky High...and i never will...*sniff* T_T**

**Author's Note:** Sorryyy, Sorry, Sorryyyyyyy! .Alive! xD! So much's stuff been going on, i can't believe it, but i had to put this up. It may have some typos and stuff in it, but i'll go back and fix it when i have more time. This chapter was really hard for me to right and i'm still not happy with it, but i've been keeping you guys waiting too long! .! I may go back and re-write it eventually. Anyways, Enjoy!

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_**Meanwhile In The Gym…**_

Yes, she had finally run out. It was getting annoying to watch that annoying little bitch just stand there and watch them, but now she had gotten the message. Of course, this was delaying her plan by a few minutes, but it didn't hurt it. And now was the time, she thought, smiling an evil smile as she watched the unsuspecting students dancing and laughing. What vermin. But soon, they wouldn't be a problem. How could they be annoying when she wiped them off the face of the earth? But she would toy with them for a while, of course, and then dispose of them. She would make them pay, for everything.

She reached into her purse and took out the small and thin vial and watched as the amber liquid gently swirled. She subtly poured a good amount in the paper cup before twirling it to even out the distribution. Will Stronghold, she thought with a mocking scoff. Soon he would be no different from them all. Just a pawn she could move as she wished.

"So, are you having fun?" she said smiling, making him look back at her. He grinned that goofy grin she hated so much and she had to force her scowl down with a sickeningly sweet smile.

"Yeah, I am," he answered, "How can I not when you're my date?" he finished attempting charm and failing miserably.

"Aw, that's so sweet!" she answered in mock surprise before handing him the cup, "Why don't you finish your drink and then we can dance. I love this song!" she finished pleadingly, batting her eyelashes.

"Sure" he replied, ignorantly taking the cup and downing all of his contents, missing the wicked smile that formed on her lips before disappearing in a matter of seconds as if it had never been. "Let's go," he said, taking her hand and pulling her towards the dance floor where he wrapped his arms around her waist and she put hers around his neck, mentally counting down till the drug took effect.

"You know," she said, bashfully as they swayed to the slow song, "I'll never forget this moment." _29…25…21… _

"Me neither," he answered, touching his forehead to hers. She smiled before resting her head in the crook of his neck. _18…16…12_

"And you should really cherish it," she said, her lips curving evilly. "Why?" he asked casually, oblivious to what she held in store for him.

"Because," she started, _7…4…2…_, "It's the last one you'll ever have," she finished, her voice no longer sweet and feminine but deep and menacing.

He didn't have time to process what was happening before his vision clouded over and all of his limbs went numb. The last thing he remembered was Gwen staring down at him with an evil grin as he slowly fell down.

_Down, _

_down, _

_and down still._

The faint screams of the students slowly faded out before he landed on the floor with a silent thud and his world went black.

* * *

The breeze was cold, practically attacking my skin, but I couldn't care less. Not when I was having was could possibly be the best kiss in my entire life. I didn't feel anything around me. It felt like all my surroundings had somehow disappeared and there was nothing else but him. Him and the way his lips felt on mine. Okay, now that's enough, I kept on thinking. But as soon as I pulled away, for the slightest moments, all I did was stare into his eyes, into those thrilling dark brown orbs and I closed the distance again. Who would have thought? I'd never realized it before but Warren was a guy. And no, I'm not saying it in the way that I'm a girl and he's not.

I guess I always saw him as Warren the dangerous, brooding, and unapprocheable menace. Or not until a few days ago, Warren the guy who actually understood me and was a really good friend. But now I saw him as more than that, and really way more than that. He was the guy who actually knew me for who I was. Not Will Stronghold's desperate best friend who was secretly hoping for something that would never be, or Layla the dorky tree hugger. Well, he knew about that last one but still. I didn't care if I was the annoying 'hippie' as long as I was with him. _Oh, will you shut up already? We get it, _my conscience annoyingly prattled, but I ignored it.

I ran my hand through his long, dark hair enjoying the silky feel of it. _Sure, why not! _My conscience chimed in, _ignore me and keep going, don't even think about how weird it's gonna be between you two after this is over!_ Now that got me to stop. I pulled away from the kiss and averted my eyes, afraid of what I might see in his. My gaze dropped to my lap and after a few seconds I felt his hand slowly leave my cheek and then I was freezing again.

Mustering up enough courage, I looked up to meet his questioning gaze. "What?" he asked, his brow furrowing the slightest, "Still cold?"

I sighed loudly and awkwardly ran a hand through my hair before speaking, "I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that, I don't know what came over me."

I watched as his expression turned from questioning to hurt before his jaw clenched sternly and he tore his eyes away from me, looking into the distance. Great, what had I done? Now he probably thought I was thinking this was a mistake! Way to go Layla, I mentally kicked myself.

"It's fine, hippie," he said in a cold tone, "I should have stopped you. Dunno what came over me either," he finished semi-casually.

I heard the anger in his voice and right at that moment, the customary nickname stung. It was a stabbing jab at me, and I honestly didn't blame him. I wouldn't blame him for thinking of me as a player either, because right now I wasn't far from it at all. The rustling of leafs, the cascading water of the water fountain, and the sound the wind made as it blew were the only sounds that could be heard over the almost palpable awkwardness and tension between us.

I looked back at the guy beside me. So how would things go from now on? We would just go on and pretend like this never happened? As I sat there, it took a while for it to click. There was no way I was going to let this go.

The moonlight shone on his face, bringing out his strong cheekbones, making him look even more attractive if that was possible. And underneath those dangerous looks, there was the person I would never find a replacement for. I'd be ten times the idiot I already was if I let him go. So it was decided, I thought, determined.

"Warren," I said, moving closer to him, "I don't think I've ev—" Just as I was about to reach for his hand, a shrill and terrifying scream pierced the air, making me quickly withdraw my hand and both of us jolt to our feet.

"What was that?" I asked, shaken as I looked towards the source of the horrifying sound and then to Warren. His fist was clenched as he fixed the gym. I followed his gaze and saw a large stream of white light shooting towards the heavens. It seemed to come from the roof of the gym. But how?

"Only one way to find out," he spoke firmly, as if answering both of my questions "Come on, looks like we have issues actually worth dealing with." And with that he ran towards the building, his black tuxedo whirling in the wind. I felt a small pang of hurt at his words but I shook it off. There was no doubt as to if I would fix this. I would absolutely make things right no matter what it took, but right now I agreed with him. There was a bigger problem. I ran as well as I could in the restricting dress to catch up with him.

* * *

It was chaos. Absolute chaos.

Students were running all over the place and completely ignoring and slamming into the teachers that were desperately pleading them to stay calm. Punch bowls were brought crashing to the floor, the liquid spilling everywhere and tables were turned over as everyone ran for their lives, the screams almost deafening. But what from? My question was answered as a loud and ominous voice resounded throughout the large gym.

"Well, well, well, look who decided to finally make an entrance. The airheaded tree hugger and none other than the abandoned, hot-headed pyro brute," the voice snidely said, as we walked further into the spacious hall, finally laying eyes on the speaker. Gwen. I ignored the insult for the time being, my eyes widening so immensely I was afraid they would fall out of my head and fall to the floor. Gwen?

Her eyes were dark, dangerous and she wore the most spiteful smile I had ever seen. Even in all her evilness, Gwen couldn't have been this maniac standing before us, I knew she couldn't. But it didn't help that they were almost identical. Her red, floor-length dress flowed around, caught by the wind coming from above. That's when I noticed that the roof of the gym had somehow been blown off and a large, bright white stream of light stretched from behind the spot where she stood to the sky. She was blocking my view but I could see metal behind her. It had to be some kind of machine. That explained the light Warren and I had seen.

"Seems like the heavens have indeed frozen over, Warren," she began tauntingly, fixing Warren with sardonic eyes as her infernal grin widened, if that was possible.

A few students could be heard gasping in fear as she started walking towards us. They had all steered clear from her and despite the significant amount who had run out, there were still plenty other students left. The terrified girls trembled as they clutched on to their dates. I looked around to find I couldn't see Magenta, Zach, or Ethan.

"Now what would daddy say? He probably wouldn't be too thrilled to see his good for nothing son now fraternizing with the enemy, now would he. But I really doubt he'll be able to do anything about it in his current position, isn't that right Warren?"

Looking to my right, I saw Warren tense up and I could tell he was getting pissed, but he didn't say anything.

"Hand over Gwen!" one of the teachers bellowed as they rushed to the scene, "What have you done to her?" the history teacher shouted, his face a mask of anger.

'Gwen' chuckled lightly under her breath, before it escalated into an outright cackle that shook her body. "FOOLS!" she screeched loudly, making me wince, "There was never a Gwen to BEGIN with! I AM ROYAL PAIN!" Oh no. This wasn't good. A series of frightened murmurs swept over the crowd who warily eyed the scene playing out before them.

"We're here," I heard and I looked over my shoulder to find the rest of the gang running towards us, making the crowd part. Ethan and Magenta rushed to my side, Zach following not too far behind, flustered and out of breath. "Hey, wait up," he said, panting lightly when he finally made it to us.

"What's going on?" Magenta inquired her hair slightly out of place. I opened my mouth only to shut it closed. I had wanted to explain, but another voice had started to.

"She's not Gwen," Warren said darkly, "She's royal pain. Some years ago she made this machine that sucked away people's existence. She planned on using the extracted life force to create a new universe where she would rule and reform the remaining people to be at her service, but something happened when she fought Will's dad and when the ray got busted, it hit her and instead took away years of her life, turning her into a baby. But now she's back, and she plans on taking revenge."

Slow clapping started, making me snap my attention back to the black-haired girl, "Very well told, Warren. But you forgot an ever so teeny, tiny, little detail. This time I happen to have an amazingly powerful human vessel with enough power to create a black hole!" she finished with another terrible cackle. It took me a few moments before realization finally dawned on my face. Will.

I started frantically looking around the gym where banners were torn now laying on the floor, tables upside down and everything a mess before my eyes landed in a corner of the dance floor and my hitched in my throat as my heart started to pound in my ears with fear.

"WILL!" I practically yelled, running towards him. He lay there motionless on the floor. I couldn't even tell if he was breathing or not.

"Watch out!" I heard Zach shout. I barely had enough time to process the words before I felt a swift and strong fist hit me in the gut. The blow had enough power packed to send me flying towards a nearby wall where my back hit with a loud slam before I fell on the punch table which collapsed under my weight. "Layla!" I heard a familiar voice yell over all the other panicked ones that belonged to students. My head spun, dizzy. It was Warren. He'd never said my name before and it sounded foreign in his voice, but yet pleasant.

I tried to straighten up but I ended up falling on my face again. Everywhere hurt but my back felt as if it had been repeatedly struck with a baseball bat.

A cry of anger pierced the air and I lifted my head up enough to see Warren charging at Royal Pain, throwing a significantly massive stream of fire. I watched in shock and horror as it seemed to hit an invisible wall a short distance from her before bouncing off and hitting Warren square in the chest, sending him a few meters back crashing into a fallen over table. No.

"You'll never get away with this!" a strangled cry came, and I could tell that even with all the confidence and wrath Ethan was trying to pack in his voice, he secretly knew there wasn't much they could do now.

"Yeah!" a voice I recognized as Zach's jumped in, "You're outnumbered. Everybody knows one can never beat four!"

A sad smile made it to my lips as I heard their voices, desperately trying to stand their ground, but I never heard Magenta. I desperately tried to get up but ended up crawling to the scene to get a better look. She knew the situation we were in. I looked up to where she stood. I couldn't see her face, but I could tell she was thinking. Hard.

"Looks like ONE of you pathetic ants is a smart one," came the condescending and menacing tone. I watched as she slowly took a step towards Magenta, and I could tell she was about to say something nasty. Though she was an all time vilain, she still had the same facial expressions as Gwen seeing as she had been parading around in that body all year long.

"There's nothing you can do. You see, I am a very careful person. I did a little research on everyone of you 'sidekicks' before I made a move, making sure to know what I would be coming up against, and I'm not fazed in the least. You're all harmless! Isn't that right, my little Guinea pig?" she asked, teasingly looking Magenta in the eye. My black and purple-haired best friend stared back into her eyes defiantly, never lowering her drilling stare. A small smirk made its way to her glossed lips, surprising me.

The black-haired villain was obviously equally surprised because she cocked an eyebrow and stepped closer to Magenta until they were less than a meter apart. "Got something to say, piggy?"

A dark chuckle escaped Magenta's lips before she answered, "You really shouldn't have said that."

Before dark-haired villain could begin to register what was happening, Magenta pulled something out from behind her back and lunged forward, nearly tackling Royal Pain to the floor. The villain gasped in surprise before she let out a cry of pain when Magenta placed a blue fluorescent gem on her chest. "Looks like you're not as careful as you think you are," Magenta said victoriously as she smirked down at their shocked enemy, slowly standing up.

Whatever Magenta had done, we now had the upper hand. Because Royal Pain began to writhe and twist in agony on the floor. " G-gah, w-what have you d-done!" she screeched in between cries of pain.

"Aflictio," Magenta simply said, "I had my doubts about you _Gwen_. You'd never given Will a second look and then all of the sudden you're interested in him? You're resemblance to the picture of a certain villain in one of the library's history books was also too good to just be a coincidence. I could have been wrong tonight, but I wasn't ready to put the life of my friends on the line just because I didn't follow my instincts."

I couldn't remember the last time I'd been as proud of my crazy punkette of friend as I was now. A smile spread on my face as I heard her continue over Royal Pain's cries of agony. "Aflictio is drug with a special function. It increases the amount of acid produced by muscle activity tenfold and gives them an incredible numbness. Though that doesn't last very long, I doubt we'll need more than thirty minutes to put you behind bars."

By this time Warren was already up and making his way to the spot along with the frightened teachers. Oh, that was nice, so much for the responsible adults in charge of our education and well-being, huh? If he was in any pain, he didn't show it as he briskly walked over to the scene, still on edge. His black tux had almost been burnt off of him, so he took off whatever was left of it and discarded it. The right sleeve of his white dress shirt was torn and in shreds. He'd probably used that arm to shield himself and gotten it almost burnt in the process. Only Ms. Waters seemed to have the guts as she bravely ran over to me to help me get up and checked if I had broken anything. Though it didn't look like it, it felt like my spine had been reduced to crumbs.

Mr. Rogers had immediately run over to the corner where Will lay unconscious. After a few moments of turning him over and checking for pulses, he had raised his head up to the others and shook his head. My blood ran cold and I was sure I was going to drop to the floor as dead as a door nail if I hadn't heard him say, "He's out cold."

Our small moment of victory was brought to an end as a sinister and loud laugh was heard. Students and teachers watched in horror as she slowly rose, her maniacal grin never faltering as if she hadn't just been thrashing on the floor in agony a few moments ago. Now, I was officially scared stiff. The circle of people that had slowly started to form around her was now breaking apart as people retreated, having no plan.

Magenta looked at what was unfolding, a bewildered and slightly fearful expression on her face.

"Shocked?" the black-haired devil before us asked Magenta, a mocking smile playing on her features as she took notice of my friend's stunned expression, "Surprised? Did you honestly think that would hold me off? Let alone stop me? I take it you don't understand how far I'm willing to go to make this happen. I'm betting you want to know why that didn't work. Let me explain. As you've heard, when my plan backfired some years ago, I had to relive the years of my life certainly, but I was not completely turned back into a baby, you see."

I slowly started putting the pieces together in my head and then it clicked. "You still had your memories and the brain capacity of an adult," I stated, the attention shifting to me, "That gave you plenty of time to start planning your revenge once you were physically able to move around, meaning that you've been researching, tracking, and watching us before you were even…" I trailed off as fear gradually taking over me.

"Six years old," she finished deviously, "You have creditable deductive skills, my dear," she said, eying me with what looked like appreciation in her own sick and twisted way, "Too bad it'll all go to waste. Or will it?"

The intensity white stream of light next to the metal contraption suddenly doubled, the impact making the floor shake and students scream in fear and alarm.

"It seems I have spent more than enough time in this rotting universe," she continued snidely, "And I am done playing games."

And with that she snapped her fingers. What came out of the light made me break out in cold sweat. A monstrously tall metallic creature stepped out of the blinding stream. If the swarm of students were scared before, now they had most likely undergone cardiac arrest because they were madly shrieking. The creature was metallic and robot-like and stood one multiple legs. It was about three meters tall and moved at an incredibly fast pace. Its body resembled that of a human. Looking at the face, I saw it had a skeletal structure, what could only be the nose was slightly inverted and the eyes were further out of their metal sockets and gleaming with a furious red light as the creature advanced, followed my more.

A freakishly long robotic arm lashed out of nowhere and violently swept Zach and Ethan to the side. "Guys!" Magenta shouted as she saw them fall to the floor not far from her. A detached and monotonous robotic voice brought her attention back before she was hit by a ray of light that sent her crashing into a nearby table.

"Must. Destroy. Weaklings," the creature droned. My breath hitched in my throat and I was frozen to the spot where I stood when its eyes zoomed in on me. In a flash it was hovering above me and I felt like I would melt into the floor any minute now as I braced myself for the pain I knew would come.

Suddenly spheres of flame burst into my vision and hit the creature in the side before I heard, "Don't just stand there, run!" I made it a note at the back of my mind to thank Warren for that once we were in a more danger-free situation. It took a while for me to snap out of my reverie and run towards Warren. Shaking off the blow, the creature zoned in on us and I knew we had made it mad. But this time I was prepared.

I closed my eyes and breathed in a calming breath and tried to make the chaos around us fade out as fast as possible. I slowly raised my hands, palms up and felt the familiar warmth of the energy begin to course through me. My eyes opened in a flash and I raised my hands higher. The ground beneath our feet started to shake and strapping roots and vines leaped out of the floors. I pushed my right hand in direction of the robot and the vivacious plants flew in its direction, entangling it. It struggled but it was no use.

Gwen had taken Will and was about to enter the light before she threw us a devilish smile, "Of course, how rude of me! I can't leave without saying goodbye. Now where are your manners, Mr. Stronghold?" she said, roughly gripping and pulling at Will's hair, his head lolling to the side when she let go. I saw red.

"STOP IT! STOP IT NOW! GIVE HIM BACK!" I yelled from the top of my lungs, tears of anger and frustration threatening to fall.

She let out a long, high-pitched laugh before speaking, "I'm afraid I can't do that, darling. Aflictio," she said, looking at Magenta, "Nice try." And with that she stepped into the light, disappearing along with my best friend. To hell with fear, I thought.

I shook it off and broke into a run. I ran as fast as my feet would let me towards the massive stream of light seemed to be getting narrow. I ignored the voices around me, telling me to stop. One of the robots suddenly appeared out of nowhere, its red eyes blazing but I ducked. There was no time for this right now. I just ran. Then the thought occurred to me. Once I got there, wherever it was, what was I going to do? I had no plan in mind, and I knew there was no way I could possibly stand up to Gwen alone, but I also knew more than anything that there was no way I would just stand there and let him…

The light was closer, the path getting thinner. The brightness was almost blinding as I leapt through it. Not before feeling a hand grasp mine from behind.

* * *

**Author's Note: **And that was it! Hope it was still semi-enjoyable though =P


	8. Stay?

**Author's Note: Ahhh! Finally. I didn't think I get this up this soon! I'm telling you, I had ZERO inspiration left for this story DDX...but when I opened up what I had typed of this chapter yesterday and re-read it sort of came back to me a little, so I finished it and there you have it! This is a rather chill chapter, some more action probably in the next chapter. =) I hope you like it! Feel free to point out any mistakes, grammar, anything =)**

**~HG~**

* * *

My eyes slowly opened and I couldn't make out anything at first before they involuntarily shut closed again. I opened them once more and forced them open as I took in my surroundings. It was dark and the sky was…grey? I blinked several times to clear the haze and stop my head from spinning and I squinted again, alarmed that nothing had changed. I pushed off from the ground, trying to get up and my arms gave out, my body collapsing to the ground like a bag of bricks. I couldn't even get up. My head was swimming like I'd been held upside down for hours and all the blood had rushed up to my skull. I was barely aware which way was up and which way was down. Images started flashing through my mind and I struggled to make sense of them.

_Light._

_A really bright light. _

_People screaming…Why? _

_What's Gwen doing there? And why is she holding Will? _

_I'm running. Fast. _

_And then I…jump?_

Realization dawned on me and panic gripped my heart.

I'd gone through the portal.

I'd jumped through that light.

Leaving the others behind, I realized, as the memories came back rushing into my head. And I had no way to get back.

_But wait, _I thought as another memory nudged me at the back of my mind.

_The light was closer, the path getting thinner. The brightness was almost blinding as I leapt through it. Not before feeling a hand grasp mine from behind._

Someone had tried to hold me back. Probably one of the teachers. The thoughts swirled in my head some more before I waved them away. The wind was cold and harsh and the dark soil had stained my dress. So much for the perfect homecoming. Tall and stiff trees with barely any leaves towered over me menacingly, their scarecrow branches tearing through the smallest bit of sky I could see. It was a cold, hostile forest I had landed in. Fear now wormed its way into my mind. What if I got attacked? Who knew what animals were here, or other creatures for that matter? But I shook my head to clear it and swallowed my fear. I hadn't come here to be scared, or have second thoughts. I knew very well what I was getting myself into, so I wasn't going to just lay here, sprawled in the dirt. Wherever 'here' was anyways.

I straightened up trying to get up and my effort was rewarded with white hot pain shooting through my ankle. I winced sharply at the fierce pain and reached down to stroke the swollen area that largely stood out. I'd probably injured it when I fell. Well, this was certainly not going to help me in my now less than helpless situation. I attempted a step forward.

"Don't force on it, idiot."

I jumped at the voice and whirled around to see Warren leaning against a nearby tree. His clothes were as tattered as mine and he was in equally bad shape. My eyes roamed up his frame and I took in whatever was left of his black tux and white dress shirt. The fabric was torn, the slashes revealing portions of tan skin. His brown hair was disheveled, still gracefully falling on his shoulders and his gaze was unwavering as he fixed me expectantly, a light scowl tugging at his lips.

"We have enough on our plate without you becoming invalid too."

My eyes widened slightly in shock at his presence and I searched for the words to formulate my question. "Wh-what? Y-you…followed me?"

He sighed exasperatedly and pushed from the tree behind him, making his way over to me in purposeful strides. He stopped when he was facing me and spoke, looking down at me.

"No," he mocked, the sarcasm heavy in his tone, "I didn't. I'm just a figment of your imagination," he finished calmly before his expression was replaced with the usual annoyed mask. "Did you really hit your head that hard? Anyway, let's get a move on. Contrary to what you might think, I don't plan on spending the rest of my life trying to save Stronghold's sorry ass." And with that he started walking ahead, leaving me frozen in my spot still trying to grasp what was happening.

He walked a good distance before realizing I wasn't following and he turned around, shooting me a glare.

"Are you coming or not?" he spoke, clearly annoyed and dark brown eyes fixing me. "Because if you're not that's fine. I'll just find Stronghold by myself. Oh, wait that's right. I'm not the one who jumped through this thing in the first place, now am I? So start walking," he snapped before he turned his back to me and resumed walking. After a few seconds of staring after him I followed. Somehow I knew he wasn't going to turn around anymore. And I wouldn't let the little protection I had walk away from me like that. As we silently walked, me trailing a few feet behind him, I mused over the situation.

_He followed me. _

_He was the one that tried to hold me back then, so he probably fell in with me._

_But he doesn't look too happy about it, _I thought to myself as I stared at the back of his head.

_Oh, of _course_, Layla. Warren Peace would _love_ to be stuck in some unknown hell hole because he tried to save your stupid self._

I shut up my witty conscience and kept walking.

_Maybe he's still mad about…that…_

I frowned lightly and looked down to my feet as I walked. I don't blame him, and I _had_ to fix this. But how? And do I even know that's what he's mad about? He could be mad about having to endure my company for all I know.

_But he wouldn't have come, then._

True.

What if I asked him?

I opened by mouth only to shut it when he whirled around and frowned at me, "Can you walk any slower?" I bit my lip and glanced at my swollen ankle, wincing as I felt it throb uncomfortably. I saw him follow my gaze and in a moment he was in front of me, crouching down, his back to me. I cocked an eyebrow at him strangely and waited.

He sighed heavily before speaking, "Get on."

I blinked once. Twice. I stood still, not moving an inch until his glacial tone reached my ears.

"You realize this is starting to piss me off, don't you? I don't want to be here anymore than you do, but thing is, we don't have time for this. It's either you limp your way to god-knows-where by yourself and Stronghold enjoys his nice quality time with Royal Pain or you get on right now and we maybe find a way out of this goddamn place and save the jerk. Either way, your problem."

I frowned slightly, a bit put off by his irritated tone but took in a breath and let it out, shivering against the cold before I laid both my hands on his shoulder blades and gently hoisted myself up onto his back as to not further damage my ankle. My arms slowly wrapped around his shoulders, wrists locking and he immediately straightened up and hooked his hands under my knees, his fingers grazing my bare thigh in the process. I blushed lightly and turned my head away, focusing on a skinny branched tree nearby. It wasn't like I'd planned for any of this to happen. If I had, I wouldn't have worn such a revealing dress, of course. But how could I have foreseen Gwen turning evil, abducting Will and me landing in an alternate world? "Is this fine?" he asked.

"Y-yeah…thanks," I murmured and we went on our way, whatever it was. We spent several minutes walking through the isolated forest in complete silence, except for the occasional rustle of bushes and noises that made me jolt in alarm. I ended up leaning into his back and burying my face in his neck, the pleasant scent of his silky hair filling my senses. He smelled nice. He'd always smelled nice for as long as I could remember. I'd now gotten accustomed to the musky yet soft scent with a hint of pine that radiated off of him. We walked on what seemed an endless path for what seemed like an eternity, insecurity nagging me the whole while.

_You don't even know where you're going, do you?_

_What makes you think you'll get anywhere?_

_And even if you do? You don't know if it'll be too late._

I constantly tried to shut it up but it kept on rearing its ugly head. Finally Warren broke the silence and I was thankful.

"Didn't we already pass this tree?"

I looked around, at loss of an answer. They all looked the same to me and we'd been moving nothing but forward since we started walking so I didn't know what he was getting at.

"No, we didn't. We went straight the whole time. Unless you took some turns I didn't notice."

I could hear him frown, confused, "No. No, we didn't. Never mind."

We continued walking. Well, Warren did, until he stopped again.

"What is it?"

"Something's wrong here. Definitely wrong."

"What?"

He resumed walking before answering, "You see that branch there?" he said, indicating with a jerk of his head a thick oak branch with a few single leafs hanging from it.

"Yeah."

"Look at it closely," he instructed as he kept on walking, "Then tell me if you notice it too."

I kept my eyes fixed on the branch, my gaze slowly changing from confused to weary as the branch seemed to stay in the same place even as we walked several steps ahead. My eyes widened in surprise and my heart thudded loudly in my chest as the impossible registered.

"It's not moving," I muttered, still in shock.

"Good," Warren said before halting. "You see it too. And that means two things. One, I'm not crazy and imagining things, and two, we're in serious shit," he finished as he slowly eased me down to my feet.

I stared up in wonder, now weary of my surroundings, a new fear getting a hold of me as my mind struggled to understand what was happening. It couldn't be…

I tried it myself, limping a few feet forward, but the result was the same.

"It's no use," I heard him say. I turned around and looked at him fearfully and hopefully at the same time. I wanted an answer. A logical one. One that would make sense of all of this as a big misunderstanding or mistake so we could be on our way again. But I heard no such things. The words I heard intensified my fear, made my doubts reality, and my helplessness rise to a whole new level. Warren looked around warily and then I knew we were screwed. Because Warren Peace doesn't get wary. Ever.

"We're trapped."

**_####_**

The cold wind hit my skin and I shivered, waking up for what felt like the hundredth time. We'd been at this for god knew how long. We would take turns, looking around, going in different directions to try and find a normal path. But whatever turns we took so far, the outcomes were the same. I straightened up and rested my back against the strong bark of the tree behind me.

I squinted hard, trying to make out my surroundings through the fog that had doubled since. He was nowhere in sight. I wasn't panicking anymore. I'd had my panic attack when Warren had briefed me on our situation earlier. Time and distance distortion. I never thought I'd hear of, let alone ever experience anything like that. The absurdity of it still had my head spinning.

I got up and didn't bother brushing off my dress that I was sure would never return to its original color again. It was torn and unidentifiable from any old dirty rag. My hair was gross. Disgusting. I could feel it and I didn't even want to see it. I looked down at my hands and rubbed my fingers together to shake off the dirt still clinging to my palms. I stared in disgust at the dirt that had accumulated under my fingernails.

"No dice."

I looked up to see Warren coming in the distance, looking as scruffy and torn up as I was. Only way better somehow.

"They're all the same," he continued, a frown marring his sharp features, "It's like I didn't even move an inch."

I sighed, still in denial of the situation. There just _had_ to be a way out. There always was. "Are you sure? Every single one?"

His gaze hardened and he scowled, "_Yes, _I'm sure," he grit out, taking me aback, "I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true, unless you think we can afford to joke now," before whipping around to head in another direction.

I let out a frustrated breath and called to him, "Where are you going? And stop acting like that, okay? I just want us to be as productive as possible if we want to get out of here!"

"You think I don't know that?" he spat, swiftly turning around and locking eyes with me, "You think I wasn't working my ass off trying to find a way out while you were busy sleeping, huh? Productive? Well I'm not exactly sitting on my ass watching time go by, am I? Because the _last _thing I want right now is to have to stay here a moment longer! Now excuse me, I'll try to find something edible so we don't die of starvation of that's _productive enough_ for you."

And with that he left.

**####**

The fire crackled quietly, the only noise in the midst of the awkward silence only interrupted once in a while by the rustling of leaves above their heads from the tree they had decided to stay under. There was for sure no sign of any coming rain, not like the limited amount of branches would do much to help them anyways.

I sat on my end on the other side of the burning wood nervously chewing on my bottom lip as I scrambled for something to say that would somehow fix this.

_Should I apologize?_

_But I did nothing wrong!_

…_still, what else can I do, it can't stay this awkward forever…_

_Aghh, why does it even have to fall back on ME?_

After a good amount of indecisive thoughts and useless questions I sighed quietly and opened my mouth to speak.

"I'm sorry."

I closed my mouth and looked up at the sound of the voice.

His crossed arms rested on the top of his knees and he was leaning on the tree trunk behind him. The dancing flames created shadows that continuously flickered on his face and even with the limited light provided to us, I could see the struggle going on in his averted gaze. I didn't think he would be the one to apologize.

As I stared at him he met my eyes before I could turn away and spoke.

"I didn't mean to jump at you like that, I was just pissed. Guess all this shit is getting to me, us having no idea in hell where we're supposed to do. Feels like I should be fixing this and I _am _trying and then you started talking about how we had to be productive and I just-"

"It's my fault, Warren. I'm the one who should be apologizing, I mean that was way out of line. We're both stuck in this play, tired, hungry and we don't even know what to do! The last thing I should be doing is making it look like I'm the only one who wants to get the hell out, so I'm sorry. We'll fix this….well, we'll try our best…"

He kept the eye contact even after I finished talking.

"And thanks, by the way. For coming here with me, you didn't have to," I started up again, "And hey, if it helps any I'd probably be dead if you weren't here," I chuckled out, a part of my mind knowing that it was actually true.

A few seconds passed before he replied, a good-natured air around him once again, "Yeah, that's true. You'd probably have managed to find a hole to limp into, shivering in the cold and crying for your teddy bear."

"Oh, shut up," I snapped, but it held no heat. Our gaze crossed again and they locked for several seconds before I looked away, blushing at how long I must have been staring.

We chatted some more until the fired died out and I don't know when I fell asleep. I didn't know what time it was, if it was night or day, and I wasn't panicking anymore. The last thing I could feel as sleep reeled me in was the warmth of his chest and his arm around my shoulders.

* * *

**Author's Note: Well, that's it! Review pleaasee, I'm getting the feeling there's not much enthusiasm for this story so let me know if I should even continue it DDX! (even though I'll finish it anyways since I won't be able to just leave it like that DDX but still!) Tell me what you liked, what you didn't like, and constructive criticism is welcome as usual. =)**

**Thanks for reading! ^^**

**~HG~**


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